Like Father, Like Daughter?
by freakily obsessed Yassen fan
Summary: What if Yassen had a daughter? What if she never knew he existed?... Can't think of any more "What if"s. so basically, Arya Gregorovich is on a voyage of discovery. SCORPIA makes a return and MI6 are left floundering, plus K-Unit put in an appearance. R
1. Funeral

**I don't own Yassen, but i DO own the others... yay!**

Arya stood alone, watching through tear filled eyes as the coffin was lowered, her mother. She twiddled a rose between her fingers and looked around; trying not to think about the fact that it was her mother in there. There were only a few other people there; a couple of men from her mother's work and a few distant relatives.

The vicar said a few prayers and Arya murmured an "amen". Someone touched her arm and she moved forward, tossing the red rose down onto the coffin. It landed softly on the brass name plate, shedding a couple of petals as it fell.

Arya turned away as the first load of earth was thrown into the grave. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the dark suited men nudge one of the other and point at her. They moved around and advanced towards her, hands outstretched.

She stopped and shook both hands, letting go quickly. The men appeared to be at a loss for what to say and she started to move away. A hand caught her arm in a vice-like grip and dragged her back.

"Get off me." She hissed, wrenching her arm free. "What do you want?" the men stepped back.

"We are sorry for your loss. Holly was a very good worker, we'll all miss her." Arya nodded, trying again to move past them. She was pushed back again. "Of course, we are also interested in making sure that you are still ok. Do you know what the arrangements are for you?"

"Of course, I'm going to live in London with my aunt Sandra. It's all arranged." She said confidently. The men shared a glance and her heart plummeted. They took another step forward. Arya stepped back.

"Well, in that case," the taller of the two said slowly, thoughtfully, "May we provide transport?" Arya's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest, then her brain processed the information and she nodded.

"I guess so, I was going to take the train, but I think that it'll be ok…" her cousin came over and took her arm.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Arya nodded and he turned to the two men. "I'm afraid you'll have to excuse us, we need to sort out Arya's stuff before she leaves." He turned and walked away, Arya following.

"But, James, I'm packed." She said quietly as they walked around the corner. James shrugged, grinning.

"You looked like you wanted to get out of there, what were they saying anyway?"

"They were offering me a lift to London…" she said. "Do I have to go? Why can't I stay with you?" more tears leaked down her cheeks.

"We've been over this. Oh and I found an envelope this morning in Aunt Holly's desk. It's addressed to you." Arya looked up sharply; she hadn't found anything for her when she'd looked through the room.

"Are you sure?" she asked. James laughed.

"Of course I'm sure. Come on, I'll show you." The pair wound their way through the Keswick streets. Arya gazed longingly at the groups of teenagers in the park; she would have loved to join them on this beautiful summer's day.

When they reached the house, a spacious semi-detached cottage, Arya went straight to the desk. The envelope was lying in the top drawer. Sure enough, there was her name on the front. James closed the door behind him and sat down on the couch against the wall.

"Open it then." He said finally, Arya was stood silently holding the envelope. She jerked around when he spoke, and then laughed.

"Here goes…" she said dramatically. Part of her rebelled against the frivolity, but she knew that her mother would hate for her to be sad all the time.

She opened the envelope. Inside were a folded note and a photograph. She pulled the note out with trembling fingers and sat down next to James to read it.

"_My darling Arya,_

_I am so proud of you. I never told you enough times just how much you meant to me. But I kept a secret from you all your life: the identity of your father. I didn't want you to know until it was time and I suppose that this is it. His name is Yassen Gregorovich. I think he currently lives in London. This photograph is us when we were on a holiday together. I loved him. And I love you; you look so much like him. Good luck, whatever you choose to do._

_Love forever, Mum"_

Arya's eyes filled with tears and she passed the note and photo to James. He read it quickly before putting an arm around her.

"He looks nice…" he said hesitantly. Arya scrubbed the tears from her face again and took the photo. It showed her mother standing next to a young man. He was tall, slim and had the same eyes as his daughter. Their hair was even the same shade of blonde. She didn't look at him much though, her eyes were on her mother, she looked about nineteen. She was smiling.

With a jolt, Arya realised that she could scarcely remember the last time she had seen Holly smile. The cancer had done more than take her health; it had taken her personality too. And eventually, it had taken her life. Ayra swallowed the lump that rose in her throat.

"He looks a bit like me. Doesn't Mum look happy?" she said quietly. James nodded, slipping an arm around her shoulders. She leant into his chest and cried.

The next day, Arya woke up early. She lay in her bed, gazing lovingly at the fells outside her window. By craning her neck she could see Skiddaw in the distance. James called her from downstairs and she sighed, tearing her eyes away from the window.

She slid into her dressing gown and padded down to the stone-flagged kitchen. James was sitting at the worktop, talking to someone by the door. Arya peered around the door, shooting a questioning glance at James.

"Aunt Sandra!" she exclaimed, rushing over and throwing her arms around the woman. "But you're not meant to be here until tomorrow!" Sandra laughed.

"I know, but I wanted to come and see you, so I got an extra day off work. How are you?" she asked, suddenly serious. Arya shrugged, averting her eyes.

"Not bad, I guess. The funeral was a bit rough, and James found a letter from mum yesterday. It was about my father." Sandra's face paled beneath her make-up. Not that, not now, not him.

"What did it say?" she asked hoarsely. Arya glanced up, puzzled before answering.

"His name, where she thinks he lives, in London. And a photo, look." She pulled the folded paper from her dressing gown pocket and handed it over. Sandra scarcely glanced at it.

"What do you want to do about him?" she snapped. Arya started and Sandra forced herself to soften her voice. "Do you want to meet him or what?" Arya shrugged again.

"I guess so, he is my father." She sounded unsure, even to herself. Did she really want to meet the man? She shook her head, trying to clear it. "So, are you taking me back to London with you? Or can I stay here?" she felt a brief flash of hope that she'd be able to stay. It was quickly crushed.

"We're going to London tomorrow. Sorry." Arya looked away, too many people had said that to her recently. "But… I have a whole day up here, any ideas what an old, unfit aunt and her niece could do?" her voice was cheery, but falsely so. Arya knew that, but didn't let it show.

"I don't know, I haven't finished packing so I better do that first. We could…" she faltered, searching for something to say. Sandra laughed and Ayra turned and gazed moodily out the window.

She eventually left the room, climbing up the ancient wooden stairs silently, listening carefully for voices. There were none. She sighed and dressed quickly.

Arya was about to go back down, but hesitated. She turned and opened her bedroom window. She clambered out and lowered herself gently down to the top of the shed.

She curled her legs under her and gazed longingly over at Skiddaw. She would have climbed it today, one last trip to say goodbye. She knew that it was ridiculous, but the fells were her friends. But Sandra would never make it up, and she couldn't just leave her in Keswick.

Resigned, she bent her knees up to her face and cried.

**Sorry if it's a bit waffly, I wanted to develop the character first. Anyway, you know the drill by now; click that button (please!) D**


	2. Realisation

**Heya, sorry for the huge gap between updates! i don't know what's come over me! anyway, here it is... Enjoy D oh, and i only own Arya, and Sandra... and Holly...soz, i'll shut up now.)  
**

Two days later and Arya was hating every second of her new life. The London streets were crowded and dirty, for someone who had grown up surrounded by the most beautiful scenery in Britain, it was unbearable.

The house was thin, one of many identical ones in a long terrace. Sandra loved it; she said that it was what she had always wanted. Arya loathed it. She was due to start school the next day, the first day of the term. Brookland School. The name was somehow comforting, but she had seen it the day before when she had gone for an interview with the principal, and had decided that she wouldn't like it.

The other kids she had seen from her room were scruffy and foul-mouthed. She knew that she wouldn't make friends with any of them. Sandra called from downstairs and she turned away from the window, wondering briefly if she could persuade her to let her stay at home.

"What is it?" she shouted, bending over the banister. She fought to keep her voice pleasant. She was losing.

"We need to get your uniform. I did tell you." Arya groaned quietly.

"I'll be right down." She replied. Her walking boots were under the bed and she pulled them on automatically. She laced them tight and clumped down the stairs. "Ready." She said quietly. Sandra span round, her eyes resting disdainfully on the boots. She caught the defiant glint in Arya's eyes though, and decided to say nothing.

"Come on then. Do you have trainers or do I have to buy you some?"

"I have some, but I don't wear them much." Arya said tersely, she had heard the accusatory tone and felt a flash of anger. She followed Sandra through the door and slammed it behind her.

The trip went without any major disagreements and they returned to the house laden with bags. Arya had quite enjoyed it, but her happiness evaporated when she came into sight of the house. Suddenly school, even here, didn't seem so bad.

The rest of the day slid by slowly, every second was a minute, every minute an hour. The two of them didn't speak to each other; they were too different and couldn't find any common ground.

Arya hated the tense silence, she found herself thinking longingly of the evenings she had had with Holly, the laughter and the happiness. The memories were too much and she ran to her room and cried.

"Arya, are you ok?" Sandra came hesitantly through the door; concern was evident on her face. "This isn't really working, is it?" she said quietly and Arya shook her head.

"I just miss Mum. It's so different here…" her voice gave way to a fresh burst of sobs. She was aware of an arm around her shoulder and leant into the embrace. "I'm going to sleep." She whispered eventually.

Sandra nodded and moved away, leaving her alone. Arya closed the curtains. If she lay on her back, she could imagine she was back at home. She sucked in a deep breath, fighting to stop the tears. It worked.

She read a book, her eyes sliding over the page without absorbing anything. Her mind boiled with half-formed memories and she eventually gave up and lay silent until slipping into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, September 1st, was bright and warm. Arya couldn't suppress a flicker of excitement, a new school, and possible new friends. Sandra was still in bed and Arya helped herself to a mountain of coco-pops. She washed and dressed slowly, aware that she had loads of time before she was due at school.

Finally, ignoring the knot in the bottom of her stomach, she slung her bag over her shoulder and closed the door behind her. Her infallible internal compass guided her through the streets. As she got closer to the school, more and more students in uniform appeared.

Arya briefly considered talking to one or two of them, but they walked in tight groups, deep in conversation. When she approached one, they members glared at her suspiciously. She decided that it wasn't worth it and moved away.

She reached the gate and stood awkwardly in the school yard, gazing around her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a boy leaning against the wall. He was alone and that was good enough for her.

She wandered over and leant against the wall, a few feet from the boy. She sidled closer, inch by inch.

"Hi," he said suddenly, turning to her, "You're new right? I haven't seen you before." She blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, I just moved down from Keswick." She said.

"Really? I was up there over Christmas, it's nice." He seemed to be hiding something from her, but she let it pass. "I'm Alex by the way, Alex Rider." He held out his hand and she took it gently.

"Arya Jones, nice to meet you." She replied, feeling awfully formal. Alex laughed, and then looked her over.

"You know, you remind me a bit of someone I know… don't worry, I'm probably going mad." Arya laughed with him. "So how come you're down here instead of back in Keswick? It's much nicer up there." Arya looked away; she didn't want to talk about it. The silence stretched on.

"So what year are you in?" Alex asked eventually. He didn't want to press her for answers. Arya flashed him a quick smile and opened her backpack.

"I'm in year 11," she said, fishing in her bag. Finally she tugged a piece of paper out and opened it. "I'm in Miss Underhill's tutor group. That's what it says here, anyway."

"Miss Underhill's? That's my tutor group!" Alex grinned. "You want to sit next to me?" Ayra froze; she hadn't expected someone to like her this quickly, if at all.

"Yeah, ok." She smiled at him.

Sure enough, Alex had saved her a space. She slid into it and blushed furiously as she was introduced to the class. Miss Underhill was young, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. Arya felt an instinctive liking for her.

She and Alex compared their timetables when they were handed out and found that they had quite a few lessons together. They wound around the school, Alex guiding her from lesson to lesson before going to his own.

By the end of the day, they were firm friends and Arya walked back home with a light heart and a huge smile on her face.

Alex cycled home with the same, but there was something bothering him. John greeted him as he came through the door; Jack was sitting on the worktop in the kitchen.

"Good day at school?" she asked as he helped himself to an apple.

"Yeah, there was a new girl, she's called Arya." He hesitated, and then turned to John. "She looks a bit like Yassen actually, it's weird." John looked at him curiously.

"What's her full name?" Alex bit his lip, thinking back.

"Arya Jones, I think." He said finally. John's brow creased.

"Jones…Jones…" he muttered. "I'm sure I knew a Jones, once. Where was she from?" Alex shot him a confused glance. "It might help me work out where I know a Jones from."

"What about Mrs. Jones?" Jack asked suddenly. "Could it be her you're thinking of?" John shook his head.

"No, that's not it… Where was she from, Alex?"

"Keswick, I was saying that we went up over the winter." John bit his lip. The name was just out of reach.

"Holly!" he yelled suddenly. "Holly Jones, she was in Cornwall with me and Yassen when Yassen joined SCORPIA. She left, and moved back to Keswick. It might be her daughter." He grinned triumphantly.

"Yeah, with Yassen. Like that would happen!" Alex laughed, but stopped when he saw the pained expression on his Dad's face. "You mean…?" John shrugged.

"She loved him; it tore her heart out to leave. I think he loved her too, but they didn't do anything in Cornwall. But they could have met up later on, I suppose…"

"He wouldn't know, would he?" Jack asked in a hushed voice.

"No. He wouldn't have left her if he'd known." John said loyally. Alex snorted, unconvinced. "He wouldn't do that, Alex. You know him well enough to know that, surely."

Alex nodded, ashamed. He did know Yassen well enough to know that he wouldn't abandon his child. "We don't know for sure if she's his daughter though." He muttered.

The other two nodded.

"No, I guess not." Jack said quietly. She had quickly become firm friends with John, and with Yassen once he'd got back from the Lakes. She still remembered the things they had done, but they had saved Alex's life, and that was all the excuse she needed to like them.

"We shouldn't say anything until we're sure." Alex said confidently. John nodded instantly. Jack, caught up in her thoughts, was a little slower to respond, but eventually nodded too.

They sat in silence for a little longer, and then went their separate ways. All were eager for the next day when Alex planned to ask Arya who her father was, and her mother.


	3. Discussion

**Heya, sorry for the HUGE gap between reviews, i've been doing SO much revision it's unbelieveable! But hey, only another month or so until exams are over... great... anyway, here it is, and YES, i know it's short, and I'm sorry. see above for the reason... lol. oh and i Don't own Yassen, John, Alex or Jack!  
**

Arya was also thinking about her new friend. She was thrilled to have found one so quickly and lost no time in telling Sandra all about Alex.

"…And he showed me all around the school and even showed me the way to each of my lessons." She finished breathlessly. Sandra wiped the smug, knowing smile off of her face and spoke.

"He sounds nice." She said, sliding off of her stool.

"He is, very nice." Arya said without thinking. She blushed scarlet and snatched a muffin from the table. "I'm going to do my homework." She said, before fleeing the room. She heard Sandra laughing behind her.

She spread her books over her bed, annoyed that she still had homework to do. But her thoughts kept straying back to Alex and she finally gave up on the work and closed her eyes.

"Mum," she whispered. "I still miss you, and I miss home. But London isn't as bad as I thought it was. I've made a new friend already, he's called Alex. You'd like him." She searched for something more to say before whispering goodbye.

She found herself more able to concentrate after that and finished off the work easily. Afterwards, she went back downstairs and talked to Sandra. They had somehow reached a truce and were getting along quite well.

As they ate tea, Chinese from the restaurant on the corner, Arya looked at her aunt properly for the first time. She had red hair, like her mother, but her face was more lined and her eyes were grey, not the bright, vibrant view of Holly's.

"Were you close to Mum?" Arya asked quietly. Sandra stiffened slightly, surprised by the question. She recovered quickly though, and answered after a short pause.

"When we were younger, yes we were close. But we grew apart, and then she just up and left. She was gone for almost six months. She never said where she went, and then she got pregnant with you, about a year after she got back. She never told me anything about Yassen, apart from his first name." Sandra sighed, looking out the window. They sat in silence for a while.

"I want to see him." Arya said finally. Sandra nodded.

"I know. I would, if it was me. And Holly definitely would." Arya smiled picked up the plates. After she had washed them, she went straight to bed. Too much had happened and she was tired.

The next morning would have been clear if the exhaust fumes hadn't dyed the sky grey. All the same, it was a bright day. Once again, Sandra was still in bed when she closed the door and left for school.

Alex was waiting for her at the gate, accompanied by another boy. He was short and thin. He and Alex made a sharp contrast.

"Arya, over here!" Alex called. The other boy was called Tom Harris. He was quiet, but seemed friendly enough. The three of them chatted for a while before Tom moved off to talk to some other friends.

"So what did you want to say to me?" Arya asked once he was out of earshot. Alex looked at her quizzically. He opened his mouth. He closed his mouth and laughed.

"You don't miss much do you?" he asked jokingly, adding internally "Just like Yassen." Arya shook her head, grinning.

"So, what did you want to say?" she asked.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something." Alex said hesitantly. Arya nodded for him to continue. "This might seem like a stupid question, but… well, hang on, you know yesterday, I said you reminded me of someone I know?"

"Yeah… I vaguely remember. What's that got to do with anything?" she asked, though she had a feeling that she knew.

"Well, what's your Dad called?" he asked, confirming her suspicions. Did Alex know Yassen?

"Why do you want to know?" she asked guardedly. Alex laughed.

"I think I know him." He said simply. "And from that, I wouldn't be surprised if I was right." Arya realised he was talking about her defensive response and blushed.

"His name's Yassen Gregorovich." She said reluctantly. Alex's face paled and he slumped back against the wall. He muttered something to himself.

"So your Mum's called Holly?" he asked. Now it was Arya's turn to pale.

"What…?" she whispered. She swayed and Alex caught her arm, holding her upright. "How did you know her name?" she asked softly.

"My dad knew her." Alex said, shrugging. "Why? What's wrong?" the last question was added as Arya turned to him with tear filled eyes and let out a sob.

"She…she died." She said, looking away again. Alex opened his mouth to apologise, but was interrupted by the bell ringing above their heads.

"I'm sorry." He said as soon as he could, "I didn't know. My Mum died when I was a baby. I don't remember her." Ayra looked at him. Somehow they were closer now, even though they were both silent. They had something in common.

They sat in silence through registration, Alex's hand resting gently on Arya's. They had their first lesson together and spent most of it in quiet discussion. By the end of it, Arya had agreed to meet Yassen over the weekend.

That afternoon, Alex cycled beside Arya as she walked home. They chatted happily, not mentioning Yassen at all. They both knew they were avoiding the point but neither minded.

Arya was nervous about the meeting. Alex was scared of how Yassen would react to her. They reached Sandra's house and Alex left his bike outside when they went in.

Across the road, the man who had followed them from their school slipped a phone from his pocket and pressed a button. There was a dial tone and it rang once before it was picked up.

"I've found the girl. We can do it tomorrow." He said shortly.

"Ok, get it ready." Someone said on the other end of the line. The man hung up without another word and continued down the street. The daughter of the great Yassen Gregorovich, he would get promoted for this surely. He smiled as he walked and turned the corner, disappearing from view.


	4. Kidnap

**Hi, I really won't be updating for a while. Exam time now... but half term soon-ish so fingers crossed! lol I don't own Alex or SCORPIA... enjoy...**

When Arya woke up, she was bathed in sunlight streaming through her window. Just like it used to when she was back in the Lakes. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, tasting the pollutants in the air. They reminded her that she wasn't at home and she rolled out of bed.

Sandra was awake for the first time and heard her coming down the stairs. She came out to see Arya as she thundered into the hallway.

"Morning." She said brightly, drying her hands on a tea towel. "Did you sleep well?" Arya shrugged.

"I guess. Alex said he would call for me, yes?" Sandra snorted with laughter and nodded.

"Yes he did. At half past eight." Arya smiled, blushed and ducked into the kitchen. She helped herself to Cornflakes and a glass of orange juice.

"What are you going to do today?" she asked. Sandra glanced away shiftily. Arya raised an eyebrow and smiled, leaning forward over her empty bowl. "Come on, tell me…" she wheedled. Sandra laughed.

"God you're like your Mum. She could always make me tell her anything by using that voice. Ok then miss smarty pants, I'm going out for dinner with a friend from work, and I guess he's quite good looking." Arya squealed and hugged Sandra. The older woman laughed and peeled her arms off.

"So it's a date?" Arya asked excitedly, she hadn't seen Sandra as the dating type. She seemed to wear an invisible wedding ring which warned men away. But now she was grinning like a schoolgirl and nodding. Arya hugged her again.

"Yes, it's all very exciting. Now let me go!" she said, straining to be heard over Arya's continued shouts. There was a ring of the doorbell. "Saved by the bell." She gasped as Arya let her go and snatched up her bag.

"Bye! I'll see you after school." She called as she joined Alex on the front step. He didn't have his bike for once and looked somewhat lost without it. "Hi, are you ok?" she asked, settling into place beside him.

"Yeah, I'm not bad. I'm tired though, I was up for half the night doing a stupid English essay." Arya glanced round, worried and Alex laughed. "Don't worry, it wasn't set for you, remember?"

Arya punched him gently on the arm and he laughed again, punching her back. They continued doing that until they reached the school gate. Alex set off in the direction of the bike sheds automatically, only to be pulled back by Arya.

"Right, yeah, not got my bike today…" he said awkwardly. Arya laughed and pulled on his arm to lead him over to their spot against the wall. They talked for a while; neither of them noticed the man on the far side of the road, or the microphone just above their heads, recording their every word.

When the bell rang, the man across the road walked away, he had heard everything he had wanted to hear. The two teenagers had been discussing Yassen.

They walked into the classroom, quietly discussing Yassen and what he was like. Alex could only tell Ayra so much without revealing what Yassen had been when they met for the first time. He was continually stopping himself mid sentence to prevent himself from revealing the truth.

Miss Underhill called for quiet and got it instantly. Alex and Arya were the only pair left talking but fell silent quickly in the sudden hush.

"Thank you." Miss Underhill said sternly, making them two of them quail with the look she gave them. "Ok, now that our young rebels over there have chosen to shut up, I can get on with what I wanted to say."

She flicked her hair back over her shoulder and a collective sigh ran through most of the boys in the classroom. "There have been a few strangers seen watching the school. If you're approached by anyone you don't know, don't say anything and come and get a teacher straight away."

The class nodded obediently and she smiled, gesturing for them to resume their conversations. Alex tried to talk to Arya, but couldn't concentrate; his mind was on the strangers that had been seen. His instincts told him that it wouldn't mean anything good.

The day passed quickly, Arya had forgotten all about the strangers, but Alex couldn't get them out of his mind and kept looking out of the window. At the end of the day, Arya was waiting for him at the front of school.

Alex again headed for the bike shed; only to be pulled back once again by Ayra. She laughed as he tried to make up an excuse.

"I was just…uh… checking that Tom's bike is still there… hasn't been stolen or anything…" he finished lamely. Arya laughed again, looping her arm through his.

"Yeah, right… I believe you" she said sarcastically. They walked on together, then spilt up and walked home separately. Alex felt tense; his body trembled with nervous energy. He knew something was wrong and stopped; looking all around for the threat that he was sure was there.

Arya heard the footsteps behind her, but didn't register them until they broke into a run and came up close behind her. She stepped sideways, trying to move out of the way. The footsteps jerked to a stop and she felt strong arms around her waist, lifting her off the floor.

She opened her mouth to scream but a hand clapped over her mouth. She snapped her teeth together on a finger. There was a whimper from behind her and the hand clamped tighter over her mouth, squeezing her cheeks tightly.

Alex came round the corner at top speed. His feet slid on the tarmac as he fought to turn quick enough. As he straightened out, he saw Arya being bundled into a car. She was kicking out but there were three men holding her down and she wasn't strong enough.

"Help!" she screamed. Alex sped up. He wasn't going to make it. He saw one of the men take out a needle and plunge it into Arya's leg. Her screams stopped and she went limp. The doors slammed shut as the men got into the car.

"No!" Alex called out. He couldn't help himself. He was within a few feet of the car boot when it accelerated away, laying down a thick layer of melted rubber on the road. Alex continued running, but eventually slowed and stopped, gulping in lungfuls of air. He swore, again and again, spitting the words out in rage.

He didn't know who the men were, and without any clues he wasn't likely to find out. He swore once more and turned away. Alex wandered dejectedly back down the road and gazed moodily at the skid marks on the road.

The street lights came on and still Alex stood there. Eventually he turned away, but turned back almost immediately. Something was lying on the floor, glinting silver in the golden light. He bent down and picked it up.

Black rage flowed through him. He knew instantly who the men were. The silver object was a lapel pin, shaped like a scorpion. SCORPIA.

** I hope you liked it. i've been a bit distracted with revision. Anyway, if you did like it, please review! D**


	5. An Offer

**Hi, sorry for the short chapter, but I couldn't find a good place to divide it up...D thanks to my reviewers! you make it worth while! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you do, please press that little button at the bottom! D**

Arya's whole body ached. Her head felt like it was full of fluff and her body wasn't doing what it was told. Her eyes were still shut and she turned her head slowly towards the sound of breathing nearby.

"Oh. You're awake then. You can open your eyes, you know." It was a man talking. Arya's eyes flickered open, but closed almost instantly. The light was blinding. "Is it too bright? Here, I'll turn it down." Arya saw the lights dim through her closed eyelids and opened them again.

The man sitting next to her was young, only about twenty. Something about him reminded her of Alex. Alex… with a start she remembered what had happened the day before and sat up sharply. The room swam in front of her and she swayed. Strong arms caught her and lay her back against the pillows.

"Take it easy, ok? You're safe and sound here, I won't hurt you." The man said. Arya looked at him curiously, noticing that his eyes were a piercing grey-blue. She blushed as she realised that she'd been staring at him and glanced away. Her mind was spinning, where was she? Who were these people? She looked all around the room but couldn't see any clues.

"Where am I? And who are you?" She asked. Only when she tried to talk did the emotions come. Her throat constricted and her eyes filled with fearful tears. The man beside her patted her arm.

"My name's Nathaniel. My friends call me Nate, so call me Nate. And you're in a training house for the people I work for." He seemed reluctant to elaborate and Arya was happy to sit in silence. "Yassen Gregorovich is your father, isn't he?" Nate said suddenly.

Arya started at the sound of his voice, and then nodded warily. How did he know? She had only found out a few days ago. The question must have shown in her eyes, because Nate smiled sympathetically.

"We've been following you. Sorry, but it was necessary. If it makes you feel any better, we weren't interested in you at first: it was the Rider boy we wanted.

But then we heard that you're Yassen's daughter and well, we had to get you. So here you are."

Arya didn't ask how they knew that she was Yassen's daughter; she had a feeling that she wouldn't like the answer.

"You know Alex?" she asked instead. Nate swore in a foreign language and glanced around guiltily.

"I wasn't meant to tell you that, but yes. Well, I know of Alex Rider." His voice was hard, Arya knew that he didn't want to talk about it any more but she found that she didn't care.

"How do you know him?" she asked. Nate gave her a fierce look. Arya glanced away, but quickly returned her gaze to his face. She stared unflinchingly at him until he lowered his eyes and began to speak.

"He's not just a schoolboy, he's a spy. He works for MI6, or has worked for them. I don't know. But he smashed two of our operations and killed two of our leaders. He's the worst threat to us there is and the worst bit is that he's only fourteen! It's embarrassing."

Arya gave a little laugh. Nate smiled grimly and stood up. "You're ok for now. If you need anything, there'll be someone just outside. Once you're over the effects of the drug, one of the executive board will come down to speak to you. We have an offer for you." He closed the door quickly behind him. Arya heard a key turn in the lock and footsteps receding down the hall way.

"What if I want to go home?" she said to an empty room.

Arya sighed. She missed Sandra and Alex, especially Alex. Fear crashed over her and the room swam through her tears. She took a couple of deep steadying breaths, trying to calm herself down. It didn't work. She dissolved into fresh tears and, this time, didn't bother trying to stop them.

Eventually she calmed down and dried her face. Her body felt like it belonged to her again and she stood up and staggered to the tiny washroom. She splashed water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red-rimmed and blotchy and her face was flushed, her hair was tangled and parts of it stood on end.

"I look like a hedgehog." She muttered, and then laughed gently. She felt a little better by the time she stumbled back to her bed. Her legs were still weak though and so she was content to lie in the bed.

She dozed for a while, only to be woken by a sharp knock on the door. Her head snapped up and she stared blearily as three men came into the room. Two of them were carrying guns, the barrels slanting across their chests. They took up positions on either side of the door. The third man was smaller, wearing a designer suit and several heavy rings on each of his fingers.

"Good evening, Arya Gregorovich."

"My name's Arya Jones." She corrected defiantly. The man raised an eyebrow.

"While you're with us, you're Arya Gregorovich." He said coldly. "But enough of this, I want to make an offer to you. I want you to work for us, MI6 have a teenage spy, Alex Rider, so why shouldn't we have a teenage agent? But you won't be a mere spy, you'll be an assassin." It was clear that he considered this to be a wonderful offer. Ayra however, wasn't convinced.

"An assassin? But I couldn't kill anyone." Her voice squeaked a little on the word "kill".

"You could, it's in your blood. Yassen was our best assassin for years; you'll be just as good, with training of course." His voice was cold again, though he tried to hide it. Arya realised suddenly that this wasn't an offer she could turn down, at least turn down and live. Fear clenched her stomach and she paled. And what was this about Yassen being a killer?

"But…"

"You'll do fine. We need you; no one else would be as good as you could be." She stared up into his eyes; they were colder than ice and held no mercy. Finally she dropped her gaze and nodded.

"Ok." She whispered. The two men by the door relaxed, lowering their guns. They would have killed her if she had refused point blank.

"Excellent. Now, you'll stay here for tonight; let you get over the effects of the drug they gave you. Tomorrow morning Nathaniel will come and get you and take you for training. Good luck." He finished, holding out his hand. Arya shook it hesitantly and he turned and marched out of the room, flanked by the two guards.

Ayra collapsed against her pillows. There were too many questions buzzing in her head. She seized one and pondered it, was Yassen, my father, an assassin? A killer..? If it was true, Alex had lied to her. She had trusted him, and he had been lying to her the whole time. He himself was a spy… She moaned, burying her face in her hands. But she didn't cry again.


	6. Plans

**I don't own Yassen or Alex, but i do own Arya... anyway, enjoy...**

Alex stood on the doorstep, stamping his feet in the sudden chill. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened and Yassen stood there, his hair tousled and his eyes heavy with sleep.

"Finally!" Alex said, pushing through into the warm sitting room. Yassen closed the door and followed him in.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He knew Alex well by now and knew that something was troubling the boy. Alex was silent for a moment, then turned to Yassen. The Russian was shocked by the anguish in his eyes and automatically reached out and touched Alex's arm.

"It's a long story… Holly Jones. I think you know her, knew her." Yassen nodded, his hand falling to his side. "Her daughter's just been kidnapped. Your daughter." Alex hadn't meant to say it so bluntly, but he couldn't take the words back.

"I don't have a daughter." Yassen affirmed, concealing the writhing knot of unease in his stomach.

"You do have a daughter. She looks just like you, her name's Arya and she's been taken by SCORPIA." Yassen opened his mouth to protest but Alex stopped him, holding up a picture. It was him and Arya. Even Yassen couldn't deny the distinct resemblances between Ayra and himself. He swore.

"I met Holly for a couple of days after a mission. I couldn't believe that it was her; I fell in love with her all over again." He paused and looked out the window. "And I haven't seen her since." Alex hesitated, biting down hard on his lip. Should he tell Yassen that holly was dead?

"So what are you going to do about Arya?" No, he wouldn't tell Yassen about Holly.

"I don't know. She probably hates me; I never even knew she existed. I don't think that I'll be able to catch up on… fifteen years? Fifteen years of memories. But then, she is my daughter… What should I do?" he turned to Alex, his eyes full of confusion.

Alex backed up a little, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know. She's my friend though, and I want to get her back if you help or not. But I think you should help." Yassen nodded.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that." He said. Alex smiled.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked, sitting down on the sofa. Yassen sat next to him and they started to plan the rescue.

Meanwhile, Arya was being shown around the new compound.

"We had to stop using Malagosto," Nate was telling her, "Because Mi6 and everyone else knew where we were. They don't know about this place though, so we're safe from them. Also, all new recruits are thoroughly searched and aren't allowed to bring any of their own things anywhere near the compound."

He sounded proud, and Arya realised just how attached he was to SCORPIA. She was still unsure of her choice, and she had told him over and over. Nate always replied with "You'll be fine once you're trained." He would then change the subject.

"Why aren't we allowed to bring our own things into the compound?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Because MI6 are way ahead in the field of technology and can conceal 'gadgets' in almost anything. That's what they did with Alex Rider: a homing signal in a brace. That's how they brought down Invisible Sword." He finished, resentment bubbling in his voice.

Arya knew better than to ask what Invisible Sword was, he had already told her that all mission details were classified.

She was having trouble working Nate out; for the most part, he was friendly and pleasant, but every now and then, he'd just…snap. When he did, he'd suddenly become surly, rude, and bad-tempered. So she followed him in silence, waiting for him to calm down again before trying to talk to him again.

She had been there for a day already. Though she wasn't exactly sure where 'there' was; she'd been blindfolded for most of the journey up…or down.

The students were nice enough, but the teachers were formidable looking and whip-tongued. Even so, everyone treated her with something bordering on reverence. She was Yassen's daughter. Everyone knew what that meant. Though she didn't know it, she received almost exactly the same treatment as Alex Rider had, so long ago.

She was dreading lessons, which were to start the next day. The other students were older and more experienced than her. Although that wouldn't take much; she had already been warned that she would need to take extra classes in order to catch up with the others.

"We've changed all the teachers since we moved from Malagosto. It's safer for everyone if they aren't here anymore." Nate had calmed down again and was again the genial host.

"Where are the oth…? Don't worry." Arya had realised suddenly what "getting fired" meant when you worked for SCORPIA. A hard knot formed in her stomach and she could feel herself paling. Nate seemed unaware of this though, and continued to tell Arya about the new compound.

They continued around the perimeter, Arya trying to relax, but her eyes were drawn by the barbed wire fence topped with razor wire. High security. She hated to admit it, but she was scared of everything to do with SCORPIA. They couldn't seem to accept that she didn't want to kill anyone, but merely tried to force hard-heartedness upon her.

All except Nate, he was the only one who treated her like a person, not a potential killing machine. She gave him a small smile which he returned warmly. They walked in silence until they got back to Arya's room, it was large and comfortable, she was going to have to move the next day and she had to pack up the clothes she had been given.

"Do you want some help?" Nate asked politely.

"If it's not too much trouble, that'd be great." Arya said quietly. He smiled and walked past her, brushing her arm as he did so.

"My God! How much mess have you made in here?" Nate exclaimed, laughing. Arya shrugged guiltily and moved over to help Nate with the packing. Her mind was whirling but she hid it, in that respect, she was already way ahead of the other students. Her face was rarely anything other than a blank mask while she was with others.

She worked quickly, folding the clothes into a tiny suitcase that Nate had had brought over for her, but her mind wasn't on it, she was contemplating escape. And Alex…

** Hope you liked it, i know it's a bit...waffly, but please review! D**


	7. Training

**Just a really quick chapter, Queen's on tv (yes I KNOW it's old, but who cares!) anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! and if you do, please review! D**

Arya was woken at five, just as the sun started to make an appearance. The other students were already up and were dressing. Privacy wasn't something that students got here and there was only a curtain separating the men and women in the large hut that served as a dormitory.

The person waking her was a woman, only about twenty or so. Her long hair was tied up into a ponytail. Her name was Amanda, but everyone called her Manda.

"Wake up, quickly! They'll be round in a minute. Get up!" she hissed, brandishing the army clothes in her face. Arya grabbed them and pulled them on; rolling out of bed as she did so. Just after she had finished lacing the heavy boots, their trainer burst into the hut.

"Gregorovich! Is your area clear? No it isn't, you have five minutes to correct that." Arya started tidying up the area around her bed, folding her blankets and her other clothes. She sometimes still forgot that she was Arya Gregorovich now. She had been training for three days and she already felt harder and stronger.

Their trainer, a muscular black man whom they were ordered to call 'sir' at all times, had forced her to do almost twice the work that the others did. She had martial arts classes and separate weapons training classes, as well as the ones with the rest of the five strong group.

By the time her area was clear, the others were out on the track, racing around and around.

"Ten laps. Get going." Arya nodded wearily and started running, rolling her eyes as she went. She made sure that the trainer couldn't see her first though. She soon caught up with the others, two more women and three men. They had already done three laps and were beginning to tire.

Arya passed them easily, feeling the start of a burn on the backs of her legs. She kept ahead of the others for the remainder of the laps. They watched her as she finished the last three laps alone.

The trainer wouldn't allow her time to rest like the other's had done, but instead lead them straight to the rifle range. Each student had been given a gun that SCORPIA thought they could handle. Arya's was a light .22 rimfire rifle. It was small and light enough for her to carry without too much difficulty.

They were working from fifty yards, the targets were human shaped but, for now, were just black cut-outs. They would progress onto life size pictures later in their training. Arya had found that she was crack shot; Yassen's genes seemed to have given her more than her looks. She hit the target perfectly, even when they were set on rails and moved.

Yassen and Alex went to MI6. It was the only thing they could do. Yassen had been given a new identity as a favour to Alex and as thanks for saving him. While Yassen and MI6 didn't really get on, he had given them some important information. And now it was their turn to give them some information in return.

Alan Blunt looked up as they walked into his office. His heart gave a little jump as he recognised Yassen. His hand drifted towards the emergency button, but then Alex stepped out from behind the Russian and Blunt let his hand fall.

"Morning, what do you want?" he asked bluntly. The question was directed at Alex, but it was Yassen who answered.

"We need to know where SCORPIA's new base is." Blunt blinked. "They kidnapped my daughter." Yassen said coldly. Alex stepped forward, recognising the danger signs. But Yassen turned away before his anger could get the better of him.

"You and me both." Blunt said. "We don't know where their new base is. It's in England, but that's all y… their agents would tell us." Shit, he'd almost said "your agents". Yassen hated SCORPIA now; they had lied to him and manipulated him, he wouldn't have taken kindly to being considered one of their agents still.

But he didn't seem to have noticed Blunt's slip because at his words, he had fallen silent and his face had closed. Alex's face was more expressive and the anguish and helplessness was clear in his eyes.

"You don't have a daughter though, Yassen." Blunt said tentatively. Alex's head snapped round.

"Yes, he does. She's called Arya and SCORPIA kidnapped her. She's one of my friends and we have to find out where she is." Alex heard the pleading note in his voice but didn't try to hide it.

"We don't know where their base is." Yassen let out a low groan from the window. Alex glanced his way, and then turned back to Blunt, pleading with his eyes for information. The head of MI6 turned away uncomfortably.

Alex gave a sigh. Then Yassen straightened up, his eyes shining.

"Well, that's ok. We'll work something out." He said lightly. Alex's head snapped round and his eyes widened. Yassen was already heading for the door and Alex followed, giving a small confused wave as he went.

"What's going on?" he asked once they reached the corridor. Yassen gestured him into silence, casting meaningful looks at the cameras along the length of the corridor. Alex nodded, he understood.

As it happened, they didn't talk again until they reached Yassen's flat. Yassen walked so quickly that it was all Alex could do to keep up. As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, Alex repeated the question.

"I still have a contact inside SCORPIA; he might tell me where their new headquarters is." His voice was brimming with excitement and his eyes shone. Alex hesitated for a second, and then let out a whoop of delight.

"Do you think it'll work?" he asked. Yassen shrugged.

"It's got to be worth a shot." He said, reaching for the slim book in the top drawer of his desk. He flicked through it until he reached the correct entry. Yassen picked up the phone and carefully dialled the number from the page and held the phone to his ear.

It rang twice, and then it was picked up.


	8. Directions

**I don't own any of the characters you recognise! Hope you enjoy it...**

"Hallo." The voice was speaking in German, but the man was English. Yassen flicked the phone to loudspeaker and replied.

"Spider, it's Yassen." He said, speaking in English. There was a silence, broken by a couple of choice curses from the man on the other end of the line.

"What the hell are you doing, calling me? You're not one of us any more."

"Thank God, Spider, I need your help. Where's the new SCORPIA compound?" they heard a sharp intake of breath and knew that they had asked the right question.

"This is about your daughter then." Spider said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes. Where have they taken her?" Yassen asked, letting a little anger enter his voice. Alex almost laughed, it was as if he could see Spider's expression, the fear in his voice was so pronounced.

"I can't tell you. They'd…"

"Kill you, I know. But tell me where she is or I'll kill you." Yassen said coldly. The comment wasn't directed at him, but Alex felt a cold tingle down his spine, he knew that Yassen wasn't joking.

"You don't understand."

"I do, trust me. Now where is she?" There was a defeated sigh, coming down the line in a rush of static.

"It's in Devon, a few miles from Exeter. I don't know exactly where, I haven't been there yet." Yassen gave Alex a thumbs-up, grinning happily.

"Thank you, good luck with your spying mission." Yassen hung up.

"Spying mission?" Alex asked. Yassen nodded.

"If Spider isn't driving, he's on a spying mission, he's low level, but pretty unremarkable, so he's great for spying." Alex shrugged, and then turned excitedly back to Yassen.

"We're going to Devon?" he asked.

"We're going to Devon." Yassen repeated. "Do you think John would come with us?" He asked thoughtfully.

"I don't know, but we'll ask. Let's go." The two of them left Yassen's flat and almost ran to the house in Chelsea. "Dad! Dad, where are you?" Alex called as soon as the door opened. Yassen pushed it shut behind him and wandered into the sitting room.

John Rider came down the stairs wiping his hands on a towel.

"Alex, Yassen, what's going on?" he asked. Alex explained quickly, looking to Yassen for agreement or a detail. The whole story emerged slowly and John sat stunned for a few minutes.

"I'll come with you, Yassen, but Alex is staying here." He said finally.

"What? But I have to help! She's my friend!" he cried, leaping to his feet and looking outraged. John shook his head almost regretfully.

"It's too dangerous. You never liked working for MI6, and this would just draw you back into that life. And I don't want to see you killed."

"I won't be! I've been fine for ages, no one's going to kill me, I've survived SCORPIA twice, I can do it again."

"They shot you, that's hardly 'fine' is it? You're not coming with us." He said. Alex looked to Yassen for support, but the Russian just shrugged.

"It's up to your dad. But I want you to come with us." He said quietly. John let out a cry of anger and turned to him.

"He'll be killed! Is that what you want?"

"No, but I know Alex and if we won't let him come with us, he'll just go on his own. I'd rather be able to keep an eye on him than have him wandering off on his own." John sighed and nodded, he knew that Yassen was right. Alex grinned at the Russian and then hugged John tightly.

"Thanks, dad." He said quietly. "When do we leave?"

"It takes about three hours to get there from London, but we'll want to work out a plan when we get there, plus we need to find the bloody place too." It was Yassen speaking. He was smiling more now that Alex had ever seen him smile before.

They decided that they'd leave the next day, have a look round and go from there. So, excitement spilling over into his face, Yassen left and walked slowly back to his flat to pack.

Arya hurt. Her whole body was aching. The training was so hard that she didn't think she'd be able to cope. All idea of escape had dropped from her mind, they took energy to maintain, energy that she didn't have.

She turned into the final lap and tried to ignore the burning pain in her legs. The trainer was yelling at her again and she tried to run faster. The others were crossing the finish line already.

Arya sighed and leant into the movement. She pounded over the finish line and collapsed on the grass next to Manda. The older woman put an arm around her and gave her a small smile. Arya smiled back, in between gasping for breath and swearing.

"You ok?" she asked, heaving Arya to her feet and half-supporting her as they walked across the field. Arya shook her head instantly.

"I feel crap. And I miss my family and friends, I miss having a life." She muttered. Manda gave her a squeeze and they made their way to the showers.

Once they were clean, they were called out to the rifle range. Arya felt herself lift a little out of her pit; she liked shooting. Her body was cooling rapidly, but she ignored it, concentrating instead on the shooting.

Her aim was a little off and she adjusted the scope accordingly. She was using a Hornet instead of her rimfire because they were shooting from a hundred yards for the first time. Half the class were shooting, while the other three were marking.

Manda was doing her marking; the two had become quite good friends, though there was one huge difference between them: Manda wanted to be there.

The trainer yelled at her from the far side of the line and she sighed and set her eye back to the scope. She pulled the trigger.


	9. Explosion

**Sorry it took so long, but i have FINALLY finished this chapter, sorry if it's reli slow and boring...**

Yassen, John and Alex were driving in silence southwards. The motorway was busy and road works covered the two outer lanes. Yassen's hands were clenched into fists and John's knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Alex stared out of the window, whispering to himself.

He had been given a gun for the first time by Yassen. John had watched disapprovingly but said nothing. His hand rested on the unfamiliar weight at his hip, he wasn't sure that he would use it, if he _could _use it. But he knew that he'd find out soon enough.

After another hour of driving, they finally pulled off the motorway at Junction 28, Cullompton. They didn't want to drive straight into Exeter, Spider had said that it was outside the city and they didn't want to waste time finding their way out of it again.

It was almost three in the afternoon and the sun was beating down mercilessly on the car. Alex brushed a bead of sweat from his forehead and leant forward in his seat, resting his arms on the back of Yassen's seat.

"Are we nearly there?" he asked. John gave a short, barking laugh.

"Yeah, we're about there. There's a hotel on the other side of this place and we'll stay there while we try to work out where they are. Then we'll go and get Arya back." It was Yassen speaking and his voice was hard with anger and suspense. Alex felt a slight tremble; he knew what Yassen meant to do when they found the compound. He would leave no one alive if they tried to stop him.

They drove for a few more minutes until they found the hotel, a large, modern brick and glass building surrounded by trees and streams. They checked in, the place was almost empty and they had their pick of rooms. They chose three single rooms and put their bags in them before meeting up outside again and driving off to Exeter.

It took about half an hour; they went through the small, narrow lanes so as to get to know the area a little better. They didn't speak, but peered at every house, looking for any sign of Arya's white blonde hair.

They split up once they reached the city centre; Yassen went to the older library while Alex and John made their way to the new one. After an hour's searching they had found nothing. They drove back in an angry silence. The next few days followed the same pattern, but on the third day there was a change, Yassen had found a possible address.

When they met up again, they made their way to the river, and from there, to the canal.

"Where's this place?" Alex asked, reaching for the paper that Yassen held tightly in his hand. "Just on the edge of Exeter, sounds of gunfire heard by neighbours." He read out. "That's why you took it? Because the neighbours heard gunfire? It's a slim link." He said quietly.

"It's still a link, that's all that matters." Yassen countered sharply. Alex nodded and handed the paper back. They lapsed into a comfortable, though tense silence. The three of them walked further still, almost seeking to escape from the pressure of saving Arya. Alex's face was suddenly drawn and pale with worry and John, having been out of action for so long, was obsessing over what was to come. Only Yassen looked calm.

They ate at the pub, a couple of miles from where they'd started. Alex only picked at his food for a while.

"Alex, eat. You can't do anything to help Arya by starving yourself to death. And both of you need to relax, if you worry, you're more likely to make mistakes." Alex and John started and looked up at Yassen. He was watching them with a look of annoyance on his face.

"We can't help it. Alex is worried about his friend, and I haven't done anything like this for over fifteen years, I'm a bit out of practise!" John sounded stressed and he knew it, but he had lost the techniques that enabled him to hide his emotions as well as Yassen did. He sighed and ate.

Yassen watched them carefully, feeling like a babysitter. He smiled at the image, bloody big babies, he thought. If he was honest with himself, he was more concerned about John than Alex; he knew what Alex could do, had seen him in action often enough, but John was right, he hadn't done anything like this in over a decade. He sighed and bent his head, eating quickly before standing and walking outside to stand at the edge of the canal. A pair of swans swam over to him, expecting food, he held up his hands. They didn't leave and he ignored them, looking instead at the far bank. He heard footsteps behind him and glanced back to see Alex and John walking over to him.

"We're going to focus better from now on," John said quietly. "You were right; we're going to make mistakes if we let ourselves worry. And you have more right to be worried than either of us. We won't let you down, Yassen." The Russian smiled.

"You couldn't let me down, but I don't want to risk losing the pair of you because you weren't concentrating." Alex opened his mouth to protest but John waved him into silence and he reluctantly closed it again.

They walked back to the car in a comfortable silence, each one confident in his abilities, and those of his friends. Once they reached the car however, they started talking incessantly, laying and discarding plans. They hadn't worked out anything for definite by the time they reached the hotel, but they all felt better for having tried to make plans.

Yassen fell into bed with his head buzzing with plans and tactics. He couldn't wait for the next day.

Arya rolled over, slamming her hand onto the alarm clock stuffed under her pillow. She glanced around to make sure that no one else was awake, and then rolled out of bed, slipping into loose, black clothes that she had been given a few days earlier. She padded silently to the door and stepped outside, feeling the cool breeze play over her skin before pulling the black balaclava over her head, and starting for the perimeter fence.

She kept close to the buildings, trusting the darkness to keep her hidden from anyone who might be awake. She paused at the corner of her dormitory hut, looking up. When she was in Keswick, the sky was clear and blazed with stars, here it was heavy with cloud which was dyed a sickly orange by the lights of the city below. She felt a sudden pang of homesickness but forced it down, returning her concentration to escaping.

She looked left and right, her gaze sweeping over the ground. Satisfied that it was safe, she crouched low and raced towards the fence. She reached it a little way uphill of the place she was aiming for, but managed to find it easily enough. It was a tree, growing right next to the fence. She knew that it was taller than the fence, and that she would be able to climb it and jump over the fence.

She turned one more time before setting her hand on the first branch and starting to climb. Almost instantly she felt something snag across her hand, it was cold, metallic. Just as her brain started to tell her that something was wrong, she heard a yell and a dark shape appeared, grabbed her waist and threw her to the floor, throwing itself on top of her and driving all the breath from her body.

That was the least of her worries though. There was a massive explosion and burning fragments of the tree fell around them, singeing their clothes and skin. Finally the ringing in Arya's ears stopped and she raised herself up a little. The figure who had saved her jumped off her back and hauled her to her feet.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Arya recognised the voice, it was Nate, and he was furious. He kept his voice to a low, malevolent hiss, but she flinched nonetheless and tried to pull away, but Nate held her tightly. "Were you trying to escape? You don't know how good you've got it, do you?"

"I-" Arya tried to speak but he slammed his hand over her mouth.

"Don't say a word except to agree to what I say. If you say something wrong, they'll have both our heads." Arya nodded, her eyes wide and scared as shouting voices approached. A spotlight blazed into life and swung around to focus on them. The shouting stopped to be replaced by relieved, but puzzled voices.

"Nathaniel, what happened?"

"Sir, Arya heard an intruder and tried to follow them. She didn't know about the tree and climbed it to see if she could see where he'd gone. I was awake and saw her go by. I followed her and pulled her out of the tree before the grenade went off." The instructor looked at Arya who nodded.

"Very well, Gregorovich, you'll report to me tomorrow at nine, you too, Healey." Nate nodded and span on his heel, marching away for a few strides before stopping and turning.

"Arya, I'll walk you back to your hut." She nodded and ran forward to walk beside him.

"Thank you," she said quietly, once they were out of earshot of the instructor. "For what you did back there. I would be dead now." Nate shrugged.

"It was nothing. But it feels weird to save someone, instead of killing. Not unpleasant, but weird." Arya smiled.

"Careful, they might start thinking you have a conscience." She said teasingly. Nat smiled warily and she rolled her eyes.

"I doubt it," He said quietly, looking away. "I'm one of their top agents, apparently."

"That's impressive, how old are you then?"

"I turned eighteen a couple of months ago," He said, smiling. "I joined when I was about eleven, so I've been here for ages." Arya tried to imagine what it would be like to kill someone at the age of eleven. She couldn't and fell silent.

They finished walking to her hut in silence. Arya was scared of saying something wrong, while Nate couldn't think of anything to say to put her at ease. It was a relief to both of them when they got to the door of the hut.

"Thanks for that." She said after a few moments. Nate shrugged.

"No problem, I'll come and get you tomorrow morning."

"Thanks…again," Arya smiled and Nate returned it. "Uh, goodnight."

"'Night." Nate said, turning and walking away. Arya watched him go before turning away and walking into the hut.


	10. Shooting practise

**YAY!! Spain was gr8, but i missed writing this story, so I'm back! This is a sort of filler chapter, but i like it, i hope you do too!! please R&R!**

Yassen crouched at the side of the road, half hidden in the hedge. The binoculars in his hands were trained on the distant huts. They looked like holiday lodges, but the multitude of people walking around in military uniform gave them away.

Beside him, Alex shifted against his tree, grimacing as he eased his legs straight.

"Cramp." He mouthed as he saw Yassen looking at him. The Russian nodded and turned back. But he had scarcely settled back when Alex grabbed his arm.

"What?" he asked. Alex pointed.

"That's Arya." He said breathlessly. Yassen quickly pressed his eyes to the binoculars again, scanning the compound below for her. It was quite easy, her white-blonde hair shone in the early sunlight. His mouth tightened as he looked at the man walking beside her. He had the easy, confident grace of a trained assassin. Why was he there? And why was his daughter laughing as she walked beside him?

His daughter… he turned his eyes back to her, unaware of how his expression softened as he picked out similarities between her and Holly. But she looked more like him, in all honesty. Her hair was the same colour as his, her face was the same shape, and though he couldn't see them from this distance, he knew from the photo that Alex had shown him, that her eyes were the same ice blue colour as his.

The pair vanished into another of the huts and Yassen took the binoculars from his eyes, glancing sideways at Alex. The boy looked tense and angry, and, if possible, a little jealous. He nudged John, on his other side and motioned towards his son. He looked and then sat back, rolling his eyes.

"Do you think his emotions will get in the way?" Yassen asked softly, so that only John could hear. The older man shrugged.

"I doubt it. Alex is a professional, despite the fact that he hates it." John spoke just as quietly as Yassen had, and Alex remained unaware of their conversation. "Let's go, we need to make plans and work out what to do. At least we know where she is, and she seems safe, at least for now." He said loud enough for Alex to hear. The three stood up and walked a little way up the road to where they had left the car.

None of them spoke as they drove into the city centre and parked up, each was wrapped in his own thoughts.

Arya sat in front of the desk, Nate in the chair beside her. The trainer wasn't there yet, so they had been ordered to wait for him. As it turned out, it was almost half an hour before he walked into the room, his face glistening with sweat.

"Sit," He ordered shortly. Nate and Arya did so, having stood up automatically when he entered. "So, what happened last night?" Nate nodded at Arya and she spoke first.

"I couldn't sleep, and I heard something outside so I got dressed and went out. There was someone walking around so I followed them. They climbed the tree; I don't know how they didn't set off the grenade, but they got over the fence and ran off, I guess that they knew I was there.

"So I climbed up, more to see where they'd gone than anything else. But my hand caught on a wire and the grenade went off. Nate grabbed me just before and pulled me away. That's it really, sir."

"Did you see the intruder's face?" the trainer asked curiously, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"No, sir, it was too dark, and I think they were wearing face-paint." The trainer nodded.

"Healey, give me your side." They had discussed their story, going over it again and again until they could recite it word-perfect. Arya listened as Nate said the words, her face was blank but the relief was plain in her body language, all her muscles had relaxed and she slumped in the chair, smiling slightly. When Nate finished talking there was long silence before the trainer spoke again.

"Gregorovich, if you see the intruder again, raise the alarm straight away. Don't go wandering around, you're lucky that Healey recognised you, if he hadn't and raised the alarm, you might have been killed. Healey, you should have warned her about our security arrangements."

"Yes, sir." They said, exactly in unison.

"Go to your lessons, Gregorovich. Healey, you go with her, keep an eye on her training and give her a hand." Nate nodded, jerked off a salute and led the way out of the hut, Arya close behind him.

She let out a relieved breath once they were out of earshot and Nate smiled slightly.

"Where are you meant to be?" he asked, pausing.

"On the shooting range. You don't have to follow me around; I can take care of myself." Nate laughed at that.

"Obviously. I'll mark for you, come on." He set off, heading towards the track that led to the range. Arya jogged after him.

"Manda marks for me." She said defensively, wondering what her friend would think of her turning up with an assassin in tow.

"Not any more." Nate said brusquely, closing the matter. They walked in silence for a few more minutes, using the sound of gunshots to guide them. When they reached the range, the class was already halfway through the session, watched over by a pair of trainee trainers, both were ex-assassins.

"Gregorovich, you're with Jamison." One of them said, beckoning Manda over. Nate stepped forward, shaking his head.

"She's with me, camp commander's orders. I'm her partner from now on," Arya looked away, towards Manda who was looking at her quizzically. She shrugged, rolling her eyes.

Nate walked away and Arya followed automatically. He got out a .223 Remington from the gun shed. It was more powerful than the .22 rimfire that Arya had used before but he waved aside her attempts to point this out, saying that she was ready.

"You'll find it bloody difficult to be an assassin if you only ever use a .22; unless your aim is perfect, you'll probably use a whole clip, and then some." He said, leading the way to an empty slot on the end of the line.

"This is more powerful, so it does more damage. Lie down," She did as she was told, wondering vaguely why Nate wasn't going up to mark. "Ok, really hold it into your shoulder; the tighter it is the less it'll hurt when you get the recoil," He bent down and shoved the stock, hard into her shoulder. "Tighter than that, really hard against your shoulder."

"That'll do," he said eventually. "Now look through the scope, keep the other eye open until you can see the target in the cross hairs. Good, now close your other eye and, slowly, pull the trigger. Take your time." Arya sighed and snapped her ear-muffs down. Keeping the cross hairs centred on the bulls-eye, she curled her finger until she felt the stock jerk back into her shoulder.

"How was that?" She asked, taking her eye away from the scope and looking around for Nate. He was standing a few feet away, blowing shrilly on a whistle. Along the row, people were setting their guns down and looking around, bewildered.

Nate dropped the whistle and walked up to the butts. He pulled down Arya's target, checking it carefully before putting in the marker and the indicator (right-hand side, red), pushing it up again, and walking back down. He blew the whistle again, ignoring the outraged glares of the two trainers and bent down to kneel next to Arya.

"It was good. You hit the bulls-eye, but it was a little low. You need to allow a little for gravity. Try again." Aware of the glares she was attracting, Arya focused on placing the cross-hairs a few centimetres above the centre of the bulls-eye. She fired again, feeling a strange connection between her and the weapon as she did so. Whatever it was, it stopped her hands from shaking and perfected her aim.

Nate blew the whistle again, the line of students laid down their weapons again, annoyed at the interruptions, but not daring to do anything more than mutter mutinously with a trained assassin so near.

When Nate came back, he was smiling and Arya felt her heart leap, she had done it. But at the same time she felt ashamed of the excitement, she was just an ordinary teenager, why was she getting excited over hitting a bulls-eye?


	11. Best laid plans

**Hi, me again, sorry about the gap, it's been a busy few days, but here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it, but it's very... waffly... ah well, the next chapter will be better, i promise!! Anyway, please R&R!**

Manda was waiting for Arya when she got back to the hut that evening, having been half-carried by Nate from the track. He had set her to run fifteen laps around it and her legs felt like water, scarcely able to support her weight. Manda leaping towards her, practically shouting questions at her didn't help her mood.

"Just be quiet for a minute, please." Arya said shortly, sinking onto her bed and covering her eyes with an arm. Manda fell obligingly silent, her face creasing into lines of worry as she saw Arya's pale face. It was well over ten minutes before she sat up, rubbing her face.

"Sorry, Nate made me run fifteen laps, I'm exhausted."

"Who?"

"Nate…sorry, Healey, the assassin I was with earlier." She corrected quickly, cursing herself for forgetting.

"On first name terms with the assassins now? You're doing very well," Manda's smile was a little too knowing for Arya's liking and she looked away. "But, really, what happened last night? We all heard the explosion, but you wouldn't talk when you came back."

"I was trying to follow an intruder, didn't realise that there was a trip wire in the tree, and would have been crispy barbeque if Na- Healey hadn't pulled me out of the way of the grenade." She completed. Her version was devoid of any detail at all but she was too tired to care. Manda raised an eyebrow and changed track.

"So why do you have to go around everywhere with Healey?" she asked casually. "You didn't seem very upset that I wasn't your partner any more."

"It wouldn't make any difference. He's my chaperon now, whether I like it or not," Arya replied, pulling the thin blanket over her head. "But he's not that bad, once you get to know him. He has a weird sense of humour though and he gets really stressed out sometimes." She didn't see the way Manda's face split into a smile. The older woman didn't speak again and eventually went over to her own bed, fishing out a book and settling down to read while Arya fell asleep.

Yassen, John and Alex woke late, Yassen alert and watchful as ever, while John and Alex were still bleary-eyed and only half awake. They rushed a short breakfast of fruit before piling into the car, and racing through the winding lanes to the top of the hill overlooking the training camp.

"Is this safe enough?" John asked as he drove the car a little way along a farm track.

"Yeah, we'll be ok here, it's out of sight of the road and they couldn't see us from the bottom of the hill. Plus they couldn't see us if they had a helicopter," The question had been directed at Yassen, but Alex cut across him before he'd even opened his mouth. The two men turned and looked at him, smiling proudly and Alex rolled his eyes. "It's common sense." He added defensively, getting out of the car and grimacing as his boots sank into the mud.

"Mind the mud." Yassen said, laughing, as he got out of the car, jumping lightly over the puddle to the bank at the side. Alex followed gingerly and they picked their way along the bank, while John did the same on the other side.

"Where now?" Alex asked, looking around. They were all dressed in army fatigues and their faces were smeared with paint until they were almost invisible against the wild-growing hedges.

"We're going to have a look around, find out the best way in, then come back tonight and get Arya out." Yassen said, pulling a balaclava over his head to hide his distinctive white blonde hair.

"Sounds like a good plan." This was from John who had gone back to the car and was pulling out various items of weaponry. Alex saw a small crossbow, complete with a quiver of razor sharp bolts being unloaded and couldn't help but gasp. It was easily the most evil looking thing he'd seen, sleek and dangerous, with a definite aura of menace. Yassen smiled, folded it in a few deft movements and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans, clipping the container of bolts beside it.

"Let's go." He said quietly once they were armed. Alex fingered the hilt of the knife up his sleeve and let his hand travel to the weight of the Socom .45 suppressed pistol at his hip. He nodded grimly and followed his father and the assassin down the hill, along the farm track.

John had a slim black rifle slung over his shoulder in full view. Alex had worried at this at first, but Yassen had explained. They had the rifle for two reasons, one: it would fool anyone looking that they were hunting rabbits or something similar, two: it had a powerful scope built into it which would let them get a good look at the defences.

Alex followed at the rear of the group, Yassen was in front, carrying the rifle, John followed him carrying a pair of rabbits, killed to complete the disguise, and Alex was keeping an eye out for anyone that might be following them. Yassen led them in a wide semi-circle so that they had a clear vantage point over the camp below. He ducked down behind the hedge, motioning to the others to follow suit, and trained the scope on the camp.

"What's the situation, then?" Alex asked after a few minutes of silence. Yassen sat back, his face grim.

"There are at least twenty guards, patrolling in pairs; about half that many trainers, plus the guy in charge, and about thirty or so students. Not to mention two trained assassins, that guy we saw with Arya yesterday and another one, an older man. We don't stand a chance." His voice was quiet, defeated and it chilled Alex to hear him talking like that.

"We have to try, though, for Arya." Yassen nodded.

"We'll try." He said quietly. Alex waited for him to continue, to offer reassurance, but the Russian was silent and a hard knot of fear formed in Alex's stomach as he turned his eyes back to the camp below them. It started to rain.

The rest of the day, spent huddled against the hedge in the rain, seemed to be the longest Alex had ever spent, but it eventually drew to a close and the clouds parted enough for the three of them to watch the sun sink behind the distant horizon and dye the clouds red, blood red. Alex shook his head to clear it and eased his legs out straight before standing up.

"Give it another couple of hours, Alex. It's not dark yet." John said, leaning out of the hollow in the hedge where he was resting. It was the first time any of them had spoken in hours.

"I know, I was stretching."

"Shush, I don't want them to hear us." Said Yassen, almost inaudible against the rustle of leaves around them; the other two fell silent instantly. Alex sighed and sat down again, crossing his legs and leaning against the hedge. He closed his eyes and tried to get some rest as the sky darkened overhead.

Finally Yassen stood up, looked at the sky and nodded shortly. Alex was on his feet in a second, suddenly tense and alert. John stood up too; his face was drawn and pale in the sickly light being reflected down from the clouds that had closed over the starlit sky once again.

"Let's go." Yassen said quietly, lifting the rifle onto his shoulder and walking back towards the car. They had decided to go in by the running track, where there were a few tracks beneath the wires where badgers and foxes had slipped inside.

Moving silently, it took the three of them almost a quarter of an hour to walk the four or five hundred yards to the fence on the far side of the compound. Yassen ducked down and rolled underneath the fence, followed closely by Alex and John.

"Ok, it's a shared hut so we'll need to be absolutely silent. John, can you stay outside and keep watch? I'll go in with Alex and get her out." John nodded and followed them to the door of Arya's shared hut, then remained outside while his son and friend went silently into the darkness of the hut.

Alex led the way, listening for Arya's breathing among the sounds that the others were making. He heard her let out a moan and quickly headed towards the sound, squinting into the blackness until her white blonde hair swam into view, fanning softly over the pillow.

"She's here." He hissed to Yassen who was still standing by the door. The Russian was at his side almost instantly, his gaze fixed on the dim outline of his daughter.

"Wake her up, we don't have long." Yassen said quietly, stepping back slightly. Alex complied, placing his hand over Arya's mouth and shaking her gently. He saw her eyes flicker open, filling with fear as she realised that there was someone next to her.

"Arya, it's me, Alex. We've come to get you back." Her face relaxed under his hand and he removed it, somewhat reluctantly. She sat up quickly, her gaze travelling quickly to where Yassen stood, half hidden in shadow. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a whispered shout from John, halfway through the door.

"They know we're here!" Alex and Yassen were by the door in an instant and Arya saw that Alex was a spy, just by watching his reflexes and how he moved. She must have been blind to miss it. _No_, said a small voice at the back of her mind, _just untrained_. She got up and made her was silently over to the door.

"Arya, go back to bed," Yassen said quietly, it was the first time he'd spoken to her, but Arya hardly noticed, her eyes were fixed on the figures moving towards them. "Go. Now." This was accompanied by a quick push back into the hut.

"Arya, go, if you're still in bed then you can't be blamed for anything. And we need you to be safe. Just tell them the truth, we'll be back." Alex said gently, steering her away from the door. This time she complied and dived back under the duvet, closing her eyes tightly.

"There are eight of them; the two assassins, and the rest are probably guards," Yassen said, apparently thinking quickly. "John, go left, me and Alex will go right and meet you at the car in an hour, maximum. If we're not there, call for back-up. Good luck."

"You too; take care of Alex, Yassen." John replied, turning and vanishing into the darkness. Yassen cast one more look back towards where Arya was lying and then turned right, Alex close behind him.

"Why did you want me with you?" he asked in an undertone as they crept along the wall of the dormitory hut.

"Because they still don't know that John's alive and if you were with him then you'd be twice as likely to be seen," Yassen explained, stopping briefly, "So we'd lose our secret weapon. And we have more involvement with Arya, so it makes sense for us to be here, and they won't suspect that we had anyone else here, but if you and your dad were caught, they'd wonder where I was." He started moving again, keeping low.

"Stand up and drop your weapons." The voice rang out over the grass as they reached the corner of the next hut. Yassen cursed in Russian as guards raced towards them, the two assassins at the front.

"Rider, Gregorovich, drop your weapons and we won't hurt you…much" the last word was almost inaudible, but Alex heard it and let out a feral snarl of rage.

"That's enough, Cleaver; we're not here to torture them," Said another voice, more youthful that the first one. Alex looked up at the owner, a shaft of light fell across his face and he felt a jolt in his stomach, it was the man that had been walking with Arya the day before. His eyes were fixed on Yassen and he looked slightly perplexed. "Do as he says, please. I don't want to kill you both." Yassen snorted, amused as he slid out the crossbow and three knives, along with four handguns, the rifle having been left under the hedge. Alex did the same, but he was only carrying the Socom.

Once the two assassins were sure that they were unarmed, they were grabbed by the guards, one on each arm, with one behind aiming a Maverick M4A1 Carbine between their shoulder blades.

Yassen caught Alex's eye and knew that the boy was feeling the same fear, and dark expectation as he was as they were dragged through the camp to the head trainer's hut. With hard jabs from the barrels of the guns, they were forced inside.

**Does anyone have any ideas about how Alex and Yassen can get out? oh, and K-Unit's going to be in this fic, just so you know Anyway, please give me any ideas about the great escape in a review... XX**


	12. Capture

**Hi again! Sorry about the short chapter! K-Unit will appear in the next one, I promise! Anyway, enjoy...**

Arya was still pretending to be asleep when Nate came to fetch her, his face drawn and his eyes puffy and red from lack of sleep.

"Wake up, Arya," He said softly, pulling at her arm. "Come on, you're needed." She obeyed slowly, acting as if she was still half asleep, though she wondered if Nate would have noticed if she had been bursting with energy, he looked exhausted.

"What's going on?" She asked blearily as they made their way across to the trainer's hut.

"Some of your friends broke in and tried to get you out, but we found them before they got to you."

"My friends?" She asked, looking puzzled.

"Alex Rider and your father, Yassen Gregorovich." Nate pushed open the door of the trainer's hut without knocking; it was full of people, all of whom turned and stared at Arya, their gaze flickering between her and Yassen, who was tied tightly to one of two straight-backed wooden chairs in front of the desk with cable ties.

"Close the door," Said the trainer, gesturing to Nate. He did as he was ordered and then moved over to stand beside Arya. She found his presence strangely comforting, despite the fact that he was a member of SCORPIA, and therefore one of the 'bad guys'. "Arya, do you know these people?" she nodded slowly, looking curiously at Yassen.

"Yes, but I haven't met…Yassen before." He smiled slightly as she said his name, but she looked away as he tried to meet her gaze; she hadn't forgotten what he was, though it disturbed her less than it had when she had first arrived.

"They broke in here to rescue you apparently, have you had any contact with them while you've been here?" Arya felt Nate tense beside her as she shook her head.

"I haven't, I didn't know they were coming." The trainer nodded, satisfied that she was telling the truth.

"Ok, Healey, can you take her back to her room?" Arya felt her eyes widen, she had expected to be kept there in case they wanted her to confirm anything, but she turned obediently as Nate touched her arm and walked out of the hut straight-backed.

Alex watched her go with a sinking sensation in his stomach. She had hardly looked at him, she almost seemed to be scared of him; he cursed himself for not telling her the truth from the beginning, but there had been no need. He caught Yassen's eye and saw that the Russian was feeling just as anxious as he was.

"Now, how did you find us?" The voice was issuing from the tall black man standing by the desk, muscular arms folded and his face dark with anger. His eyes flickered over Alex's shoulder as the assassin, Healey, came back from walking Arya back to her hut.

"MI6 knew, they told us where you were." Yassen lied smoothly, his face inscrutable. Alex shrugged noncommittally, feeling something bang against his wrist as he did so. He knew instantly what it was: the knife that Yassen had given him. It was still strapped to his forearm and he had forgotten about it. He shifted his arm a little to make sure it was hidden and then returned his attention to the man in front of him.

"MI6 don't know where we are," He said, but his voice held a note of uncertainty. He shook his head quickly and shrugged. "But it wouldn't matter if they did, at least not to you. One of the executive board is coming down tomorrow to check on things, I believe you know him, Gregorovich, Levi Kroll?" Yassen's mouth tightened and his eyes burned savagely for a couple of seconds.

The trainer smiled viciously and continued. "I thought you knew him. Anyway, he's coming down tomorrow and I'm sure he'll think of a suitable punishment for you both. Take them to the bunker and don't let Arya near them, I'm not certain that she wants to stay."

It was Healey who obeyed, beckoning two of the guards to help him; he slit the cable ties with his knife, the blade flashing dangerously close to Alex and Yassen's bodies. Before they could react to their freedom, they were seized from behind and dragged from the room, neither of them fought.

"For God's sake, we can walk, you know. Honestly, where would we go?" Alex snapped as he stumbled yet again, his feet tangling with his captor's. The man shot Healey a look, he shrugged.

"Keep hold of them, but let them walk properly." He said and the two guards loosened their grips slightly, Alex felt the guard's hand brush against the knife as he shifted his hands and recoiled. The guard tightened his grip again, but then, seeing the warning look on Healey's face, he loosened it again and they walked in silence to a heavy metal door set in concrete. Healey opened it and led them down, flicking on a light switch and bare bulbs flickered into life along the length of the room.

"Sit," He ordered. Alex and Yassen shot each other looks as they were forced into seats. "Guard the door, you two," he added, looking at the guards. They left and Alex heard the door clang shut a few seconds later.

Healey turned back to them.

"Why did you want to take Arya away?" he asked; he didn't sound angry, just curious.

"She's my friend, and Yassen's daughter, we didn't want to lose her." Alex said instantly.

"She's my friend too." He said slowly, to glares from Alex.

"You kidnapped her," he spat. Healey looked as if he'd been slapped.

"I didn't want to get her, but I was overruled. But she's ok here with us, just leave her alone." He said coldly, walking out of the room. Yassen stood up instantly and was halfway up the steps before the door slammed shut and there was a click as it was locked. He came back down and leant against the wall, staring at Alex.

"Now what?" the teenager asked sulkily. Yassen rolled his eyes and slid slowly down the wall.

"Now we wait for your dad to call for back-up." He said, leaning his head back against the cool concrete.

"Right," Alex said, and then sat up straight again. "I have this." He added, pulling the knife out of his sleeve and tossing it towards Yassen. It landed with a metallic clatter at his feet and he picked it up, smiling slightly.

"It's better than nothing, I suppose," he said heavily, "But I can't see it being much use against all of that lot." Alex nodded, his face falling.

"I hope dad hurry's up and calls them quickly." He said dejectedly.

John checked his watch again; they had five minutes left until he called for help. He sat back against the car, then started forward as a brief cracking sounded at the entrance of the track. But it was only a small herd of deer, picking their way delicately through the deep mud. John sank back, disappointed and they fled, leaping lightly up the bank and vanishing.

"Time's up," He muttered. He pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed 1. Then he pushed the green button and lifted it to his ear.

"Alan, we need help."


	13. Outside Help

**Heya, as promised, K-Unit are in this chapter! I'm not sure about this chapter, it didn't turn out the way i wanted it to, but oh well, i hope you enjoy it! please R&R!!**

Ben Daniels scrambled over the back of the sofa, searching for the phone which was ringing shrilly. He pulled it out from under a pile of papers and answered it.

"Yeah, who is it?"

"Alan Blunt. We need your help, SCORPIA have got Alex and Gregorovich. Do you still have contacts with K-Unit? I think that it might be time for them to get reacquainted with their youngest member."

Ben felt his jaw drop, Alex was in trouble again? He sighed and listened as Blunt gave him instructions on how to find Alex.

"How do you know where he is? Last I heard you didn't have a clue where SCORPIA's new training centre was." Blunt hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Yassen Gregorovich found it. He was looking for his daughter. Then he and Alex were captured and John Rider called us. There's no time to lose, we need to get them out as soon as possible."

"Right, I'll be there as soon as I can. And I will get them out." Blunt hung up without another word, leaving Ben holding a dead receiver. He sighed again and hung up before dialling another number and holding it to his ear.

"Wolf, you'd better have leave," He said quickly, before the other man could speak. "How'd you like to go and save Cub?"

"Bring it on; who are we saving him from?"

"SCORPIA, who else?"

"Aren't they the ones who have been after him for months?"

"Yeah, but how do you know that?"

"I heard things about them being after a fourteen year old boy, it doesn't take a genius to work it out."

"Fine, whatever, can get hold of Snake and Eagle and meet me at Liverpool Street?"

"Yeah, sure, give me about an hour. So call it eight?"

"Ok, thanks, Wolf." Ben hung up, smiling. He felt better now, knowing that he had help. "Hold on, Alex, we're coming." He whispered.

Yassen sat down next to Alex. There was a metal grille at one end of the room and he could see natural light starting to filter through.

"This sucks." Alex said sullenly. Yassen smiled, but it was strained. They had both gone around the whole room, searching for a way out. But it had turned up blank, even the grille was cemented deeply into place. They were propped up against the wall opposite the grille, watching as the sky brightened. A sudden clatter sounded in the stairwell and they stood up, both feeling a little stiff.

"Stay where you are, don't move or we'll shoot," They stayed perfectly still as five men walked into the room, the elder of the two assassins and four guards. "Cuff them." The guards obediently wrenched Alex and Yassen's hands behind their backs and tied them tightly with cable ties. Alex grimaced as the thin plastic bit into his wrists.

"Come on," said one of the guards, leading them up the stairs. They blinked in the sunlight and Alex stumbled a little.

"Take them to the commander's cabin, Mr. Kroll wants to see them," Yassen's face hardened with hatred and the other assassin smiled viciously. He left them to it once they'd reached the main group of buildings, walking off in the direction of the running track. Yassen turned his head to watch him go, and then looked past him as Arya's silvery hair caught the sunlight. One of the guards holding him shoved him forward and he tore his eyes away.

Levi Kroll was waiting for them, the little of his face that wasn't covered by beard or the eye patch he wore was contorted with loathing as Yassen followed Alex into the room.

"Wait outside." He ordered the guards, glaring at them. They nodded and backed out of the room, leaving Alex and Yassen alone with the Israeli.

"Kroll," Yassen snarled, his voice low and ugly.

"Gregorovich, back from the dead, I see. Well, we can probably rectify that, can't we?" Alex stiffened and Kroll turned his gaze on him, his visible eye narrowing maliciously. "Ah, John Rider's son, Alex, isn't it? We'll try and re-unite you with him." Alex frowned, perplexed, until he remembered that SCORPIA were unaware that his father was still alive.

"Leave him alone, Kroll." Yassen said sharply. Kroll stepped back from Alex and looked across at him.

"How touching," He said mockingly. He balled his hand into a fist and slammed it into Yassen's chest. "I've wanted to do that for years." He snarled as Yassen doubled up, gasping frantically for air; Kroll's fist had smashed into the bullet scar on his chest, reawakening the pain that was always just around the corner.

Kroll stepped back, laughing. That, more than anything, was what made Yassen straighten, his face pale and drawn with pain, but defiant too.

"Sorry, was that meant to hurt?" The words slipped out before he could stop them and he heard Alex let out a stifled snort beside him. Kroll raised an eyebrow, though it may have been two, it was impossible to tell as the patch over his eye covered his eyebrow too.

"You never did give up, did you?" he spat. Yassen shrugged.

"I guess not." He replied. There was a shout from outside and then a chatter of gunfire. Kroll twisted round with surprising agility and strode to the window.

"It appears that the SAS are here to rescue you." He said scornfully. Alex felt his heart leap, they would be safe. There was another burst of gunfire accompanied by a scream of pain and the sound of smashing glass and he found himself wondering what was going on outside.

Arya was walking back towards the huts when she heard the first burst of gunfire. Nate was gone from her side in an instant, racing across the uneven ground towards the sound. Arya followed automatically, stumbling a little.

She saw Nate stop in front of her and skidded to a stop beside him, looking out over the cluster of huts. It was carnage. The ground was bloodstained and littered with bodies; all of them were SCORPIA agents. Five black-clothed figures were winding carefully between the huts. Nate raised his gun, aiming for the nearest, but Arya pushed it down.

"Don't, please don't," She whispered. She looked up at him; his eyes were burning with anger. "They're only here for me." Nate nodded slowly and dropped his hands to his sides. They turned back and watched as the five men made their way towards the trainer's hut. One of them, clearly in charge, gestured for them to spread out around the hut. They did so and then, on an unseen signal, jumped up, smashing in through the windows and doors and vanished from sight.

Alex hit the floor beside Yassen as the glass broke; he had flung himself to one side before his brain could catch up with what was going on. But it was lucky he did so, as bullets whipped over his and Yassen's heads. Kroll never stood a chance, Alex saw him fall to the floor a few feet away, his body riddled with bullet holes.

"Cub?" Alex looked up to find the whole of K-Unit grinning at him while John helped Yassen to his feet.

"You took your time!" he said, smiling broadly.

**There you go, I'll update ASAP! but i have a quick question, what should i do with Nate? should he go with K-Unit and Alex and that, or stay with SCORPIA? Please give me some ideas, cuz I'm really stuck at the moment! thanx!**

**PW xxx**


	14. Injury

**Hi, sorry about the delay. I've had to sort out loads of stuff for college, funfunfun. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review!! oh, and i'm sorry that Nate had to get shot, but the real Nate was very insistent that he wanted to be shot... i worry... but hey... lol.**

Yassen smiled at John before looking at Kroll's body, spread-eagled on the floor.

"Nice one." He said quietly. The older man shrugged and walked towards his son.

"Are you ok?" he asked, folding Alex into a tight embrace. He felt him nod against his shoulder and grinned, stepping back. "MI6 want us to wipe out this camp, take as many prisoners as possible and kill the others. And we need to get Arya out." He added, nodding towards Yassen. Wolf shot him a suspicious glare, which he returned coldly until the younger man looked away.

"Let's go, then." He said loudly, leading the way out, John shot Alex an apologetic look and followed them. Alex moved over to stand next to Yassen; his father's priority would be following MI6's orders, while the Russian's would be to find Arya, like his.

There was a shout a second after the last of K-Unit vanished out of the door, and a single shot. Yassen grabbed the gun from Kroll's lifeless body and raced out into the bright sunlight, Alex hot on his heels. He stopped in the doorway, looking all around. There was more gunfire from further off but the Russian ignored it, fixing his gaze at the top of the low hill in front him.

"Arya." He said quietly, walking forward, his brow creased slightly in confusion. Alex followed him; he wasn't quite tall enough to see what was going on so he was surprised to see Arya kneeling on the floor, her hand pressed hard against the younger assassin's chest. Her hand was scarcely visible in the pool of blood surrounding the wound. Her face was hard, but a single tear rolled slowly down her cheek.

"Arya, are you ok?" Alex asked, rushing forward and trying to pull her gently away from the assassin.

"Yeah… but Nate… they shot him…" her voice tailed off and she closed her eyes as another tear crept from between her eyelids. But Alex realised that they were tears of rage, rather than of sadness.

"Arya, let Yassen help him," Alex said softly, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"No, I'll do it. Tell me what to do." She added, looking up at Yassen who had been watching silently.

"You're doing it right, keep pressure on the wound. It missed his heart by the looks of it, but it's still pretty serious. Alex, call an ambulance please." The teenager let go of Arya and stood up.

"Why should we save him?" he asked in undertone. "He's a killer." He regretted saying that instantly as Yassen's face hardened.

"So am I, but we get on fine. He's her friend, like she's yours, just call the ambulance." Alex nodded resignedly and raced off down the hill, disappearing into the hut. Yassen watched him go before turning back to look at his daughter. She was leaning so closely over Nate's chest that the tips of her silver hair trailed in the tracks of blood running slowly through the grass by his side.

"Did the bullet come out?" Yassen asked suddenly, moving forward. It would explain why he wasn't responding at all, if there were two wounds then he would be losing twice as much blood. And he'd have half as much time left.

Arya turned her gaze on him, suddenly scared. She tried to move Nate's unconscious body, removing her hands from the wound on his chest, but Yassen grabbed them and pressed them back onto it. It was the first contact they'd ever had; rough and made slippery with another man's blood, it wasn't how Yassen had pictured it.

"Don't move your hands; keep them there, no matter what happens." He ordered, staring into her eyes. She looked away and nodded, moving over to Nate's other side, so that Yassen could turn him with the wound on the upper side of his body, gravity would help keep the blood out.

Sure enough there was a second hole, this one bigger than the first and pulsing blood onto the grass. Yassen swore and pressed his fist into the wound. He wasn't sure where the blood was coming from, but the fist was better than nothing.

"They said they're on their way, but it'll be useless if we can't get them in the gate." Alex said from just behind his shoulder.

"Well get K-Unit to get the bloody gate open, then." Yassen grunted, his concentration fixed on stemming the flow of blood. Alex nodded shortly before taking off in the direction of the sound of gunfire.

K-Unit was a few hundred yards away, firing on a small group of well-armed guards. They had captured one of the huts and were taking advantage of the cover it provided. Alex raced for the door, hoping that the guards wouldn't see him. It didn't work. A volley of bullets flew in his direction. They were badly aimed, but one creased his shoulder, feeling like a white-hot poker laid against his skin. He yelped and threw himself through the door, skidding on the wooden floor.

"Cub, what's wrong?" Wolf asked, pulling him roughly to his feet. Alex shook his head quickly, gasping for breath and clutching his upper arm, wincing with the pain.

"One of you shot that young assassin, and now we need the gates open because Arya wants to save him." He gasped eventually, straightening and looking out over the grass to the heavily guarded gate. Even now, with almost all-out war breaking out inside, the guards didn't leave their posts; they had to stop the invaders getting any reinforcements in. But that would include the ambulance.

"We have to get rid of them?" Fox- Ben- asked incredulously. "How long do we have?"

"About three minutes if they rush." Alex said dejectedly. K-Unit rolled their eyes.

"You couldn't give us longer than this could you? It had to be three minutes," Wolf said, feigning annoyance. "Let's go, Eagle, stay here with Rider and Cub, give them a distraction, we'll be back soon."

"I'm coming too." Alex said defiantly. Wolf didn't even respond, but pushed his way out of the door followed by Snake and Fox, leaving Alex standing in the middle of the room, seething.

Wolf led the other two men over the ground in almost total silence. Well, silence from them at least; as soon as they had reached the door Eagle had opened fire on the small group of guards. Reinforced by John and a grudging Alex, he laid down enough bullets to make sure that there was no way that the men could show so much as a finger without being hit.

Meanwhile, Wolf, Snake, and Fox stuck to the edges of the compound, trusting the thick foliage to keep them hidden. Wolf raised a fist and the small group stopped, adjusting their weapons and taking stock of the positions of the guards. Wolf chewed his lips for a second before beckoning the other two to follow him and continuing along the hedge.

Sirens sounded suddenly in the distance, coming rapidly closer. The guards at the gate turned as the ambulance came into view. Wolf, Snake and Fox took advantage of the distraction and sprang from their hiding place, bringing their guns up and opening fire. There was no precision about their aim, they merely flicked the setting of their weapon to semi-automatic and pulled the trigger.

Well-aimed or not there was no doubt that the tactic was successful; the security men dropped where they stood, leaving the gate unguarded.

Wolf raced across the open ground, keeping low to minimise the target. He checked the bodies quickly, pulling their weapons away. He didn't enjoy killing; he couldn't help but remember that each person was someone's son or daughter, a brother or a sister. He finished collecting the weapons and set them in a pile, feeling slightly sick. He felt Fox place a hand on his shoulder and straightened, following the other two men towards the small hut by the gates.

"Snake, can you sort it out?" Wolf asked, eyeing the complicated computers warily, as if they might bite him. "I don't want to blow anything up. Really." He added, seeing Fox exchanged a glance with their technical expert.

"Did I say anything?" he asked, feigning innocence. Wolf rolled his eyes, but smiled. It was easy to forget the tension now, there was no more gunfire, Alex, John and Eagle had succeeded at killing the small group of guards. Alex was just visible throwing up at the side of the building; he had clearly made the mistake of accompanying his father to inspect the bodies.

"Ok, I've done it," Said Snake, stepping back from the computers, smiling. "Go and open the gates, the ambulance is waiting."

"I can't see why they want to save that assassin," Wolf muttered as Fox went out to let the paramedics in. "I mean, it's not like he's going to have much of a life, he'll go straight into a cell once he's recovered."

"Yeah, probably, but do you really want to argue with Gregorovich?" Wolf shook his head vehemently.

"Not bloody likely." He said, walking out of the door. The ambulance drove past him, Fox running ahead to guide it. Wolf followed slowly, half-hoping that it would be too late. It'd save him some paperwork at least. But he saw the pair of paramedics nodding and inserting drips; Nate was still alive.

They wouldn't let Arya ride in the ambulance with him, but tore out of the gate at high speed, lights and sirens going all out. Arya watched it go with a lump in her throat.


	15. Kiss

**Hi, me again. college is great, but it doesn't leave much time for writing! Anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it! please R&R, even if you only say "It's crap." lol. PW XX  
**

She wanted to follow straight away, but there was too much to do around the compound.

None of the students had been harmed, and they formed the bulk of the prisoners. Arya made sure she stayed away from them; Manda had tried to slap her when she had first seen her walking free and talking to K-Unit. She didn't want a repeat performance.

Alex stayed by her side, talking to her and reassuring her. She found it quite comforting, though it did prevent her from being alone with Yassen. He had come over to her as she was washing the blood from her hands and asked her a few questions about what sort of thing she liked and disliked. She had answered honestly, but her heart hadn't been in it.

She watched him now, checking their large group of prisoners for weapons.

"What are you thinking about?" Alex asked from beside her.

"I'm worried about Nate, I hope he doesn't…"

"Die," Alex finished for her. She nodded wretchedly and felt her eyes fill with tears again. "He'll be ok." She nodded again and sucked in few deep breaths to steady herself.

"Yeah, he's a fighter." She said when her voice was calm again. They lapsed into silence, staring out over the blood-stained field.

"What do you think of Yassen?" Alex asked after a while. Arya shrugged.

"I don't really know him. He doesn't seem the fatherly type. But he did help to keep Nate alive when he didn't want to. He did that for me, didn't he?"

"Yeah. He wants to get to know you better, but I don't think he knows how to get started."

"Is he really an assassin?" Arya asked quietly. The idea didn't seem as bad as it had when Nate had first told her, but it was still a little disturbing. Alex looked at her curiously for a second before answering with a nod. He was trying to work out what her reaction would be, but her emotions were completely hidden. Her father would be proud. "And you, you're a spy?" Another nod.

"Yes, not by choice, though. They blackmailed me, and now I can't get out. And really, Yassen's an ex-assassin. He doesn't kill any more." Alex knew he was lying; the Russian had killed that morning. But he didn't do it for money any more, that's what he was trying to say.

"What about the other men? Are they SAS?"

"Three of them are, Fox is with MI6 now, and the older man's my Dad." Alex said, pointing them out in turn.

"Cool." Arya said absently. She was staring over the fields again. Yassen appeared beside them suddenly, seemingly stepping from thin air.

"We'll be going in about five minutes. We'll stop by the hospital so you can see your friend, Arya. Then we'll go back to the hotel, ok?" They two teens nodded and Yassen gave Arya a hesitant smile before walking back to the group of prisoners. Arya stood up suddenly and walked over to her dormitory hut, taking a long detour around the group of students. She was a little relieved to find that Alex wasn't following her; she felt like she wanted to be alone.

She stepped softly into the dark hut, the silence pressing upon her. She gathered up the clothes she had been given and wrapped them in a blanket. She walked back outside, blinking in the brightness. Alex was walking towards her carrying a bundle of clothes.

"I asked one of the students where he stayed and got some clothes. I thought you could give them to him before everything is taken in as evidence." He said quietly, passing her the bundle of clothes. She smiled at him, her eyes warm.

"Thanks." She said softly. Alex grinned back at her and they lapsed into silence as they walked back over the grass. Yassen was waiting by the group of prisoners.

"MI6 will be here in a minute; we'll wait for them, and then go, ok?" The two teens nodded and sat down on a low rise, ignoring the dampness of the grass as it soaked into their trousers.

"How did you find me?" Arya asked slowly, her brow creasing slightly.

"Yassen called a contact of his in SCORPIA and he told us where to start looking. Then it was just a case of finding the address, Yassen did that too. All I did was tell him that he had a daughter."

"I'm glad you did." Arya replied quietly.

"I'm just glad we found you. Will you stay with Yassen now, or with your aunt?"

"Probably with- oh, bugger! Sandra! She'll be worried sick!" Arya sprang to her feet, eyes wide with distress.

"My Dad called her. He explained parts of it, enough to make sure that she won't go to the police. And he gave her a number to get in touch with MI6 if she wanted more information." Alex said, catching hold of her arm and pulling her down beside him. She landed roughly and dropped the clothes she was carrying.

"Thanks a bunch," she said sarcastically. Alex inclined his head.

"No problem." He replied, grinning. Arya gathered up the pile of clothes and placed them on the ground beside her.

There was a sudden flurry of movement by the gate and three Jeeps drove into the compound, skidding on the slippery grass. There were two men per Jeep, spreading out to surround the prisoners. A few of them, including Manda, tried to put up a fight, but one of the men pulled out a tazer gun and gave them a low-level shot. There were no more attempts at escape.

Yassen came over to them; he had acquired a gun and it slanted across his chest, looking more like a natural extension to his arm than anything else. He smiled slightly when he saw Arya.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, lowering the gun as they stood up. "Let me take that." He offered, holding out a hand to take the clothes from Arya. She hesitated, unsure, but then passed them to him. He juggled for a few seconds until she took the gun from him and walked towards the gate.

"She looks as much in tune with it as you did." Alex noted, moving up to walk beside the Russian.

"Yeah, she's a natural. I can see why SCORPIA wanted her. Anyone would." He felt his brow crease, that wasn't a good thing. If SCORPIA knew about her it would only be a matter of time before everyone did. He'd made a lot of enemies over the years, and he was suddenly able to recall each and every one of them.

"Just keep her close." Yassen started slightly. Alex was watching him, looking far too knowing for his liking. He shrugged and sped up, following Arya through the gate.

"Where do we go now?" She asked, pausing and turning to face him, dropping the barrel of the gun so it was aimed towards the ground. She looked formidable, blood streaking her face and her hair flying in front of her eyes. Yassen nodded in the direction of the lane where the car was parked and they set off with Alex trailing behind, watching them.

John had handed Yassen the keys to the car before they left; he was staying to help MI6 sort everything out. They piled into the car; Yassen made sure that Arya was beside him in the passenger seat. Alex sat in the back, leaning forward and resting and resting one arm on each of their seats as Yassen reversed them out onto the road.

"We'll have to be quick; the hospital doesn't want him to be disturbed too much. It's only because Alex is with MI6 that we're being allowed in at all." He said, accelerating down the hill.

Arya stared out of the window, her eyes distant. Alex watched her worriedly; she seemed so withdrawn, her mouth tight and her eyes narrowed to slits. She almost seemed to be in pain.

It was almost twenty minutes before they pulled up outside the A&E department in Wonford. Yassen produced a card, winked at Alex, and stuck it between the dashboard and the windscreen.

"Please hurry up." Said Arya with a pleading note in her voice, Alex went over to her and slipped his arm though hers. Her eyes widened and she tried to pull away briefly but stopped when she saw the sincerity and worry in his eyes. They walked towards the entrance, leaving Yassen to follow them, grinning.

They walked through the double doors; the thick, cloying smell of antiseptic invaded their senses immediately and Alex coughed once or twice, half expecting to be pounced on by one of the numerous nurses for showing a sign of illness.

The two teenagers stood a little way away as Yassen pushed his way to front of the short queue of people in front of the woman at the reception desk. He ignored the indignant cries of the people behind him, they were hushed anyway and he could almost have pretended not to have heard them; there was something about hospitals that forced people to lower their voices.

"Do you know where Nathaniel Healey is? He was shot." He added, leaning forward so the bright light illuminated the dried blood caking his face. The woman eyed him warily as she typed in the details and searched for his name,

"He's on the second floor," She stammered. "Hawk ward." Yassen nodded and moved out of the way, striding towards the lift that they had silently agreed to take. None of them felt up to climbing the stairs. The lift was empty and they travelled in silence up to the second floor.

Arya could feel her heart pounding as the doors slid open with a soft hum. She walked forward, stopped and pulled her arm gently from Alex's grip, and continued forward. She felt someone brush her arm and turned her head to see Yassen beside her, smiling reassuringly. She smiled back and turned right, following the signs to the ward.

Nate was in the last bed, his dark hair contrasting sharply with the snowy white of the pillow, and of his skin. Arya took a sharp breath and hurried towards him.

His eyelids flickered under their lids and then opened them a crack.

"How are you feeling?" Arya asked gently, sitting down beside him.

"Crap." He rasped, but he was smiling. She laughed and rested her elbows on the side of the bed.

"Some people are so fussy." She teased. Nate rolled his eyes. Yassen and Alex came over, uncomfortable.

"Thanks," Nate said hoarsely. "Both of you. And you." He added, flicking his gaze to Arya. She grinned and the other two nodded their acknowledgement.

They didn't speak after that and Nate soon drifted off to sleep. Yassen couldn't blame him; being shot really took it out of a man. Arya was leaning on the bed, eyes shut. Yassen sighed and tapped her shoulder.

"We're going now, come on." She got to her feet blearily, stumbling a little. Alex caught her arm and helped her to walk to the end of the ward.

"Damn," She exclaimed suddenly, pulling away from him. "I forgot my coat. I'll be right back." She turned and walked quickly down the corridor.

The coat was lying on the chair, exactly where she had left it.

"Back so soon?" Nate said, opening his eyes. Arya jumped, cracking her knee on the leg of the chair.

"I forgot this," She explained, holding up the coat. He smiled, rolling his eyes. "I should go, they'll worry." She didn't move.

"Go on, they will worry." Nate replied, glancing towards the door. She smiled and turned. Then she turned back and, closing her eyes, she pressed her lips against his cheek before fleeing.

**What do you think? love it? hate it? want to lynch me for it? well i hope not, but you know what I mean. Please review! :D**

**PW XXX  
**


	16. Father and Daughter

**Heya, me again!! I'm sorry, this should have been put up yesterday, but i got Brisingr (the third book of the inheritance cycle, in case you don't know) yesterday and I've been reading it since about 3 yesterday till about 11 this morning. But i've finished it now, so here's chapter 16!! I hope you enjoy it!! Oh, please R&R!!**

She could feel her cheeks burning as she skidded to a halt in front of Alex and Yassen.

"Let's go." She said quickly, pushing between them and running down the stairs, taking them two at a time. They exchanged glances and hurried after her.

"You found your coat, then?" Alex asked her as soon as he was able to, leaning against the car beside her. She nodded, blushing deeply and looking away. Alex raised an eyebrow. The lock clicked open and she ducked inside, swinging her hair so it fell across her face.

They drove back to the hotel in silence. To Alex and Yassen it seemed as if it had been months since they had last seen it; so much had happened since the previous morning that the hotel was just a distant memory.

Alex walked around to talk to Yassen as he got out of the car, "I'll get the stuff out of the car," He offered. "You can show Arya the room. Let her have yours and come in with me and dad tonight." Yassen smiled, grateful for the chance to get to know Arya better…or at all, if he was honest.

"Thanks." He said softly, clasping the teenager's forearm. Alex shrugged self-consciously and took the keys from Yassen. The Russian walked slowly to the other side of the car, where Arya stood staring around the car park.

"Come with me, I'll take you up to your room." She followed in silence; she was nervous.

"You booked a room for me?" She asked as they started up the stairs.

"No, I'm going to sleep in with Alex and John, you can have my room. Is that ok?" Arya nodded and dropped her gaze. "I don't know what to say." Yassen admitted a few moments later, pausing to wait for her. A man bounded down the stairs, did a double take at the sight of the blood-stained pair, and then inched past them before fleeing around the corner.

Arya waited until he had gone before answering, "Me neither," She glanced up at him. "Mum never told me your name, it was only after…after the funeral that I found the note she'd left me, telling me your name and where she thought you lived. Are you ok?" She added, turning back to look at her father. He was leaning against the wall, his face pale and his eyes wide; he looked shell shocked.

""She died?" He whispered, just as Arya was about to repeat the question. "Holly died?" His voice shook, and Arya blinked in surprise at the sudden display of emotion.

"Yeah. Cancer." She forced the two words out, and brushed a tear from her cheek. So much had happened since she'd moved to London that she'd almost forgotten the reason for the move; but now she was safe the reality crashed down on her again, almost driving her to her knees.

Yassen saw her start to shake through the tears filling his own eyes, and forced himself to bring his emotions back under control. He took hold of her arm and guided her into the room, before slipping an arm around her shoulders. She turned into the embrace and pressed her face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. He bit his lip briefly, and then wrapped the other arm around her back.

He held her tightly while she cried, and found himself wondering what it would have been like to have done the same thing when she was a baby. Tears of regret for the lost years as a family welled in his eyes and he ducked his head, burying his face in her hair.

"Yassen, you've got the-oh." Alex broke off abruptly as he came in through the door. Arya pulled back, her eyes swollen and red. Yassen passed her the key and she handed it to Alex. Yassen didn't look at the teenager, partially through embarrassment at being caught crying, and partially through anger at him neglecting to tell him that Holly was dead.

"Thanks." He said, walking out of sight. Arya remained by the door, taking deep, shuddering breaths to calm herself down. Yassen did the same, rubbing his eyes angrily to clear them.

"I'll leave you to it." Yassen said quietly, brushing past her as he walked out into the hallway.

"Ok." She replied, equally quietly. Yassen gave her a small smile as he turned to go into his room, but it slipped from his face as soon as he was out of her sight.

Alex was sitting on the bed, staring out of the window.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Yassen asked coldly, keeping his voice low as he shut the door.

"Huh? Why didn't I tell you what?" Alex asked, half-turning and looking over his shoulder.

"That Holly was dead. I assume that Arya told you." Alex nodded dumbly, looking away. Yassen felt anger rise inside him, but forced it down; he wasn't going to lose control again.

"And you didn't tell me because…?" Alex shrugged guiltily.

"I was worried about what you'd say. And I thought it would be better if Arya told you."

"I would have preferred to hear it from you; I know you, I don't know Arya. And it's not a good way of starting off a relationship is it? 'Hi, I'm your daughter. By the way, Holly's dead.'" His voice cracked on the last word and he looked away, gulping hurriedly to swallow the lump that rose in his throat.

"I'm sorry." Alex whispered wretchedly. Yassen turned back to look at him. He was bent forward, face over his knees.

"Don't worry about it." He said, softening and placing a hand on Alex's shoulder. The teenager turned and flashed him a small smile. Yassen opened his mouth to add something more, but his phone rang shrilly in his pocket and he turned away, pulling it out and flipping it open.

"Yassen, I'm on my way back. K-Unit is going to stay in the hotel with us tonight and accompany us back to London tomorrow. Is that ok?" John spoke before Yassen could even start forming a word. The Russian was silent for a few seconds as the words sank in.

"Yeah, that's fine. We'll see you later."

"Ok," there was a pause. "Is Arya ok? She seemed really worried about that assassin friend of hers, is he alright?"

"They're both fine, Arya's a bit upset, but I think she'll be ok. The assassin is stable, but serious. He was conscious when we went in, God knows how." John laughed in admiration.

"That's impressive," He said, Yassen nodded, remembered that John couldn't see him, and agreed. "I'll see you all in about half an hour. Bye" John said, and hung up. Yassen rolled his eyes and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He looked around and was surprised to find that he had managed to wander back into Arya's room.

"Hi." She said, smiling. Yassen grinned back.

"Hi."

"That was Alex's dad?" Yassen nodded, playing back the conversation in his mind. "Don't worry, I will be ok. And I'm not upset; I'm just trying to make sense of everything." She reassured him, broadening her smile. Yassen returned it, feeling slightly wrong-footed by her knowledgeable smile.

"Good." He forced out eventually, just as the smile was fading from her face, gradually being overtaken by a look of puzzlement. Yassen put a hand on her shoulder, and then turned and left the room.

He went outside, leaving the two teenagers to talk while they waited for John to arrive. He took a few deep gulps of the cold, clear air, and then set off, walking slowly around the edge of the golf course that was the main attraction at the hotel.

The ease with which Arya had read his emotions disturbed him, though it was to be expected; she was nearer to being him than anyone else he had ever met. But it didn't make it any less worrying. Sighing, he pushed the feeling aside and concentrated on walking.

Slightly over half an hour later he returned to see one of the Jeeps parked in the car park. There was an armed guard at the front and back, surveying the tourists walking past with hard expressions. Yassen nodded to them as he passed and one of them returned the gesture, but the other tightened his hands around the gun and his gaze hardened. Yassen ignored him and made himself walk straighter than he would normally have done, just to show that the man didn't intimidate him.

John was standing in the hotel lobby, arguing with the man behind the desk. Yassen could see that John's hand was drifting towards his hip, and the gun that rested there. He had had a long, tiring day and he wasn't in the mood for arguing. Yassen intervened and almost dragged John up the stairs to their rooms.

"I wasn't going to do anything." The older man grumbled, rolling his eyes as he allowed the Russian to pull him through the door of their room.

"Of course not." Yassen replied sarcastically, letting go of his arm. Alex waited for him to move aside before throwing himself forward and wrapping his arms around John's neck. His expression changed as he embraced his son, becoming softer and less angry. Yassen watched from the door, feeling a twinge of jealousy that he didn't have that close a relationship with Arya. Still, he had to admit that he wouldn't have known how to react if she hugged him. He sighed and walked past them, blocking out their conversation as he opened the window and leant out of it, gazing over the lush green of the golf course to the dim hills beyond.

A flicker of movement to his left caught his eye and he turned his head slightly. Arya was doing the same, leaning out of her window, but she was looking at him, not the view. She glanced away when he caught her eye, but quickly returned her gaze to his face.

"Are… Are you ok?" He asked eventually. She nodded and he noticed that her hair was clean now, falling in rippling waves behind her face, with a few strands hanging over her right shoulder.

"Are you?" She asked in turn. He shrugged and mouthed the word 'confused' to her. She smiled and nodded. After a few moments Yassen withdrew his head from the window and walked into her room.

"It seemed stupid to hang out of the window and talk to you." He explained, perching on the chair in the corner of the room. She grinned and nodded again.

"Just a bit," She said. "This is really strange; I feel like I know you really well, but we've only just met. I don't know how to explain it."

"I can't even try. Last week I had no family, now I have a fifteen year old daughter; it's a bit of a shock to the system."

"I bet it is!" laughed Arya. Yassen smiled, thinking that she sounded just like Holly.

"When we get back to London…would you- possibly- consider staying with me every now and then?" The catches in his voice surprised him, but he kept it hidden.

"I'd like that." Arya said slowly, after a few seconds. She smiled, trying to reassure Yassen. It appeared to work, for his face split into a wide smile and his eyes were suddenly warm. There was a hammering on the door and the pair both started, Yassen's right hand flew to his hip and his hand curled into a fist around the butt of the gun as he pulled the door open a few inches. It was John and Alex.

"Oh, hi." He said, relaxing his grip. Behind him, he was aware of Arya relaxing too, shifting out of combat stance and unclenching her fists.

"We were going to go down for a meal; do you two want to come?"

"Uh…" He glanced over his shoulder at Arya. She was shaking her head.

"It's ok if you don't want to." Alex said quickly.

"Yassen, you go, I want to be on my own for a while." Arya said, walking over and standing beside her father. He glanced at her and she nodded.

"If you're sure…"

"I am, besides, these two need you to look out for them." The other three laughed, though Yassen had a feeling that she wanted to tell him something.

"I'll catch up with you," He said, pretending that he couldn't find his coat, when it was hung on the back of the door. The two Riders smiled and vanished from view. "What is it?" Yassen asked quietly. Arya looked startled.

"I was going to say thanks. I know that you wanted to kill Nate, but you saved him, just because of me. So… thanks." Yassen shrugged and then, after a brief hesitation, reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Your happiness is more important than a personal vendetta," He said quietly, and then laughed. "That sounded really corny didn't it?" Arya nodded, grinning.

"Yeah, but don't worry. You'd better go and catch up with the others, I'll see you tomorrow." Yassen nodded and walked out of the room, and then was startled to find that he'd practically taken an order from his daughter. He shook his head and walked down to the lobby.


	17. Nate

**Me again! Sorry for the delay, have been re-reading Brisingr :) Hope you enjoy, and you can thank Nate for the plot twist, I was totally out of ideas!! Jusmine, i hope this will distract you for long enough so you can get Brisingr!!**

The next day passed quickly for Arya. They woke early to try and avoid the traffic; all the same Arya thought that five AM was a bit too early. Alex was the one who woke her, keeping his eyes pressed tight shut until he was out of the door.

Once she was dressed, they had been hurried into the car by the four men that had accompanied John in the storm on the compound. They were going to be staying with them for the journey up to London, or so Alex said as they sat squashed together in the back of the car.

The four of them sat in silence for almost the whole of the drive. John kept his eyes on the road, refusing to let his concentration waver. Yassen curled his legs up and leant against the door, where he promptly fell asleep. Alex and Arya found that they couldn't think of anything to say to each other, at least not anything that wasn't blindingly obvious, so they kept their eyes fixed on the horizon, counting away the seconds.

It was still early in the day when John parked the car in the car park beneath the Royal & General bank. Arya blinked in surprise; she had been expecting to go straight back to Alex's house, or maybe Yassen's, but here they were, in an underground car park beneath a _bank_ of all places.

Alex must have caught her expression because he smiled, and turning towards her, whispered in her ear, "It's just a cover; it's the headquarters of MI6." If anyone else had told her that, she would have laughed, but this was Alex; she had no choice but to believe him.

But in all honesty, by the time they had caught a lift concealed inside one of the thick pillars up to the second floor, she would have worked out for herself that this was no ordinary bank.

Alex seemed to know where he was going better than the two men and Arya stuck close to him, nervous. He stopped in from of an ordinary looking door and rapped sharply on it twice. A woman's voice sounded from inside, calling for them to enter.

Alex pushed at the door and the four filed inside, John coming last and shutting the door behind him.

"Ah, this must be Arya." She jumped at the mention of her name and looked for the source of the voice. It was a grey haired, grey skinned, grey clothed man sitting behind the expensive wooden desk. A woman stood at his shoulder, smiling tightly from inside a small cloud of peppermint scent.

"Yeah." She said guardedly, glancing at Alex beside her.

"We heard you were kidnapped. Were the men we sent helpful?" This time it was the woman who spoke.

"K-Unit was excellent," Alex said cutting in smoothly. "What are we going to do now?" Yassen tensed behind them; Arya could imagine his body tensing.

"Now? Now we decide what to do," said John, smiling.

"I don't think I could go back to being a normal person again, not after all this." Arya said quietly. Alex nodded his agreement; he knew from experience that it was impossible to be the same person you were before.

"We wouldn't expect you to," said Blunt. "We were going to offer you a job-"

"You were not," snarled Yassen, bristling angrily. His hand fell unconsciously to his hip where the Socom rested in its holster. "She's not a spy, leave her alone."

John nodded, "You can't force her to do anything, you don't have the same powers over her as you had over Alex. Leave her be."

"I don't think Alan meant now, but perhaps in the future she would consider becoming one of our agents?" Mrs Jones left the question hanging in the air, like a body from a beam. "Anyway, we aren't here to discuss the future, but rather what to do now. To start with, the assassin you shot…"

"Nate. And it wasn't Yassen; one of K-Unit shot him. But what about him?"

"He's one of us. He went undercover into SCORPIA like you did, John. He was doing fine until all of this. We had almost got enough information to shut them down." Her words were greeted with silence; Arya could almost picture the tumbleweed rolling across the floor.

"No," She said eventually, almost whispering. "He would have told me."

"He couldn't, the more people who knew, the more dangerous it was for him."

"You told us you didn't now where they were!" Yassen said, keeping his voice low even though it trembled with rage and with the effort of keeping that rage in check. "You must have done though, if you had an agent inside. Why did you lie to us?"

"We didn't," said Mrs Jones simply. "He'd only just moved there and he hadn't had enough time to send a message to us."

"I thought he was too… nice." whispered Arya. Alex nodded slowly, recalling how he had prevented the other from beating him and Yassen.

"Yes," he said slowly, suddenly feeling guilty. "And then Eagle shot him. Bugger." The word was so unexpected that Arya laughed, though it was light and fragile. Yassen gave a small smile.

"Will he be ok?" he asked. Blunt nodded.

"He'll be fine. He's being transported up here tomorrow. Arya, he wants to see you when you have the time. He thinks you might have a few things to discuss." Arya felt her face redden and nodded, keeping her gaze fixed firmly on her feet.

"Sir, may we leave? Arya hasn't seen her aunt for over a week and she'll be worried about her niece." John's voice came from somewhere behind her and she smiled gratefully at the floor.

"Of course. But I want you, John, and Alex back here next week for a debriefing."

"Yes, sir." said John, while his son nodded gloomily. Arya was the last from the room and she could feel the gazes of the two MI6 heads boring into the back of her neck as she followed Alex.

"She'd be one of the best," She heard Mrs Jones mutter as the door swung shut. "Almost as good as Alex." Arya paled and jogged forward so that she walked between Alex and Yassen. They were both pale and drawn. For a moment she thought that it was an after effect of the fighting of the past few days, but she soon realised that it was because of the news they had just received. She was having trouble digesting it too. What was it Nate had said, that he had been with SCORPIA since he was eleven? They wouldn't have been able to fake that, so how long had he been a spy before then? One year? Two? Could you really be a killer at the age of nine?

She shook her head; the thought was too disturbing for words.

"We'll drop you back at your aunt's house." Yassen said quietly from the front as they got back into the car. Arya nodded dumbly as they drove out into the bright sunlight.

"Here we are." John said twenty minutes later, though it felt like less to Arya. She didn't want to leave Yassen, or Alex. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she climbed out of the car, closely followed by Alex while Yassen copied them.

The silent group approached the front door and Arya raised her finger to press the doorbell. Before her finger could tough the cool plastic however, the door was wrenched open and she was engulfed in a huge embrace that crushed the air from her lungs and almost made her eyes start from their sockets.

"Arya!" Came the sobbing cry, repeated over and over.

"Yes, I'm fine." She gasped, pushing away from her aunt. The older woman stepped back, throwing barbed looks at Yassen and Alex. They both ignored her, which only seemed to infuriate her further.

"What do they want? Cant they see that you're happy here?" Arya bristled.

"This is my father and my best friend. They have every right to be with me." Her voice was cold and sharp as an icicle. Her aunt studied her warily for a few seconds before dropping her gaze.

"Of course," She bit out. "Would they like to come in?"

"No thanks, we'll stay outside. We just wanted to ensure that Arya would be safe in your care. After what happened last time, it seemed prudent." Yassen's tone was polite, but it rang with mirth as he saw how furious Sandra became at the slight insinuation that negligence had caused the kidnapping. Arya could hear his laughter in his voice, and while she knew that Sandra wasn't to blame, she couldn't resist a small smile.

"We'll see you soon, Arya." Alex said quietly. She smiled and hugged him quickly.

"Thank you." She whispered. She hesitated before doing the same to Yassen, sensing his discomfort at such emotional displays.

"Look after yourself." Sandra turned away with a derisive snort that she tried to disguise as a cough. Yassen quickly drew the Socom and pressed it into Arya's hands. _Just in case_, he mouthed. She accepted it with out a word and tucked it into the waistband of her jeans, covering it with her t-shirt. She nodded her thanks.

Yassen winked and walked back to the car with Alex following. Her father hardly looked at her as they drove off, just sat there, grinning, but Alex waved until they were out of sight.

Arya sighed and followed Sandra into the house.


	18. Birthday

**Oh god!! Last chapter! I'll try and make it fairly long, but it'll be mostly talking, sorry :(. This has been a really hard story to write, and I've often felt like giving up, but thanks to my all time favourite reviewer Jusmine, Nate and everyone else who reviewed, I managed to finish it off! Thank you!!**

**Three Months Later:**

"Arya! Alex is here!" Yassen called from the foot of the stairs.

"Hang on, I'll be right there," She shouted back. A few moments later there was a thundering of heavy footsteps and she came into sight, running down the stairs while pulling her hair back into a long pony-tail. "Hi." She said breathlessly.

"Hi, happy birthday," Alex replied, holding out a clumsily wrapped parcel. "Sorry, I forgot to wrap it until about five minutes ago." He added apologetically. Arya shrugged, grinning.

"It's fine." She said, snapping a hair band around the base of the ponytail and taking the gift from him. Sandra appeared in a doorway, watching warily as she unwrapped it. It was a beautiful dark blue fountain pen with a complete set of spare nibs. She glanced curiously at Alex; he had said he would get her some sort of weapon, a way to defend herself. As she caught his eye, he winked and shook his head slightly, casting a glance towards Sandra. She understood: Not here.

"You two, can you help with the food?" John said from the kitchen. He had seized control from Yassen and had somehow managed to create a three-tier cake covered in small iced shapes.

"Sure," said Alex, turning and walking into the usually spacious room. It was packed with bowls and plates of food, along with the cake and foldable tables.

"Set the tables up outside, try and keep them level, else all the food will fall off."

"We know," Alex said wearily. "We're not totally stupid. Don't say a word!" He added, seeing John open his mouth, eyes gleaming with mischief. He laughed and shut his mouth again. Arya lifted a couple of tables, slinging them uncomfortably across her back. "Ready?" Alex asked, lifting the others.

"Yeah." She said, following him out into the garden. Jack was already out there, hanging banners and lamps around the garden. She nodded as the pair staggered past, bent double under the weight of the tables. Alex rolled his eyes at her lack of offers to help, but smiled.

"Here will be ok, yeah?" he asked. Arya shrugged, relinquishing her tables with a sigh of relief. Overhead the sky was beginning to darken, and a few stars winked in the depths of the shadowy dusk. They set up the tables and turned back to the house just as the doorbell rang.

"Hi, come on in," said Sandra. "She's just out the back; go right on through, Alex is there as well." Alex grinned, certain that he knew who had just arrived, and sure enough, Tom Harris appeared in the French window, waving excitedly.

"Hi! Arya, happy birthday," She smiled happily and gave him a short hug. "I've got a present for you somewhere." Tom said, patting himself over with increasing desperation. "Uh…" He looked up with such an expression of guilt and bewilderment that Arya fell about laughing while Alex snorted but held his humour in check.

"Don't worry about it." Arya said once she'd recovered. Tom smiled guiltily.

"Who else is coming?" He asked, trying to change the subject. "Anyone from…" He paused glancing all around the garden before lowering his voice. "Is anyone from MI6 coming?"

Alex nodded quickly but didn't elaborate. Tom jerked his head upwards in acknowledgement but smiled broadly; he had always wanted to meet others from MI6, despite the fact that Alex had told him what they were like and how they had treated him.

They stayed in the garden while they waited; Tom found that he had been unknowingly volunteered as a helper. The three friends kept busy until there was another ring on the doorbell.

This time it was the entirety of K-Unit, in full Army uniform. They greeted Alex before Arya, but it turned out that they had somehow gotten hold of the rifle Arya had been trained with while she was with SCORPIA. Fox was the one who presented it to her and she suspected that he had had something to do with it.

At first she resented the reminder of her time with SCORPIA, but as she ran her hands over the familiar lines and curves of the weapon, she found that it was calming and that she liked having it on her.

It also served as a reminder of Nate. She hadn't seen him since she had visited him in Exeter hospital and she missed him, though she wouldn't have admitted it to anyone. Yassen and Alex, having been satisfied that he had been helping MI6, had forgotten about him, but Arya couldn't.

"Shut up." She whispered, kneading her forehead. She had sent an invitation to him via MI6, but hadn't received a reply. She had shrugged it off, but it still hurt.

Another ring at the doorbell; Arya raced to answer it and then threw herself into the man's arms.

"James! I didn't think you'd make it!" Her cousin laughed and straightened, pulling her toes from the floor.

"As if I'd miss your birthday! What sort of cousin would I be?" He let Arya down again, stepping forward to embrace his mother, Sandra.

"Anyway, I expect that someone expects a present. Tough luck, I sat on it…" He laughed, pulling a flat package from behind his back. "It's from Malta, I hope you like it." Arya had seen Yassen stiffen slightly at the mention of Malta. The moment passed and he relaxed again, but he kept his eyes on James.

The present turned out to be a dream-catcher. It was blue and decorated with shells and feathers.

"It's perfect." Arya said, hugging him again.

"I'm glad you like it." Arya led him out to the back garden and introduced him to Alex and Tom, along with K-Unit.

"Is it dark yet?" called Yassen from inside a few minutes later. Alex replied that it was and Arya looked around curiously; why did Yassen want to know if it was dark? Her question was answered almost immediately as John, or at least his legs, appeared in the French window. His torso was obscured by a glowing mound which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be the cake.

Arya laughed aloud with happiness as he carried it over to the nearest table. She felt a hand grasp her own and looked sideways to find Alex grinning at her.

"Happy birthday," he repeated. He then raised his voice and led the assembled group in singing happy birthday to her. From somewhere Wolf had managed to get hold of a 'Happy Sixteenth' sash, which he now draped over her head, his rough voice wiping out all the others as he bent over her.

When they finished Arya blew out the candles, not bothering to make a wish, although John tried to persuade her to.

"I'm not a baby." She said, cutting the cake into slices. James laughed and ruffled her hair, pulling it free of its ponytail.

"You are to me." He joked. Arya pushed him away, grinning. As the others helped themselves to cake, she went inside to get a drink. She had just finished draining the glass when she heard a soft knock. Curious, she went to the front door and bent down, peering through the peephole.

Someone's chest filled the view and she sighed. Slipping the chain into place, she pulled the door open a crack.

"Who is it?" She asked, keeping her face out of sight. If they couldn't see her, they couldn't shoot her.

"That's not a very nice way to treat your friends." The figure replied. The voice was familiar, but it took her a few seconds to place.

"Nate," She gasped, slamming the door shut and tearing the chain out again, fingers clumsy with excitement. "Nate." She repeated, throwing the door wide.

"Arya," He replied, leaning against the door frame. He had allowed his dark hair to grow and it now fell to his shoulders, his face was much the same, but there were a couple more lines around his eyes and mouth, remnants of the pain he had endured.

"How are you?" she asked, blushing slightly as she recalled their last meeting. He shrugged.

"Not bad, I didn't think I'd be able to come. I've only just got back from Italy; I got one of my friends to give me a lift down. My car would have been way too slow."

"How did you get here?" As if on cue, there was a roar of an engine and a helicopter, or at least the shape of one, outlined in blinking lights, rose from the park across the road and turned, spinning away into the darkness. "Oh, right."

Nate laughed at her expression.

"Can I come in? I was worried I might have missed the cake."

"You didn't, there's loads left. Go on through." She added, turning and locking the door behind her.

"Can we talk somewhere, before we go and see everyone?" His request didn't surprise her and she jerked her head in the direction of the sitting room.

"This'll be fine." She said, keeping her eyes away from the second door. She knew that Yassen, and probably Alex would be on the other side.

Nate smiled quickly.

"You must be pretty annoyed that I didn't tell you." He said, looking at the floor. Arya shrugged.

"Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones explained it to us. It made sense, even if we didn't like it," She paused. "But yes, I was a bit annoyed that you hadn't trusted me enough."

"It wasn't about trust. I would have told you if I could, but it was too dangerous. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You were only doing your job." Arya said, putting her hand on his arm. Nate looked at her, then down at her hand. She removed it.

"Look, about what happened at the hospital-"

"Don't worry about it," Nate cut across her smoothly. "It…" He caught himself mid-sentence and glanced at her, looking wary.

"I guess it was a mistake." Arya finished for him. He looked away and nodded.

"Shall we go out?" Arya felt her eyes widen and Nate laughed guiltily. "I meant into the garden. There won't be any cake left at this rate." Arya smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, let's go."

"By the way, Arya?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday," She grinned widely and took his hand, and together they walked out into the garden and the party.

And there was lots of cake.

**TA DA!! Hope you liked it! That was the last chapter, so I'm trying to think up more plots!! Bear with me please!! Anyway, please R&R!!**

**PW  
**

**XXXX**


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